The Akatsuki and the Great Oroki Redux
by WolvenSamurai
Summary: Tasha has made herself an outcast in her village. It's all that cursed Akatsuki's fault. To make things worse, she is being chased by the very group who caused this mess in the first place! With a strange love hate affair with Itachi and a very physical friendship with Deidara, she tries to cope. A retelling of Tasha's Adventures with the Akatsuki.
1. Assault of the Blond

The Akatsuki and the Great Oroki Redux

Chapter 1

_Author's note: Hey guys! It's been awhile. This is the brand new version of one of your favorite stories! There will be better writing, better character development (I hope), and a bit more action! (That's a thought.) Your favorite pairings will be here as well! Don't forget to leave a review! I apologize for the long delay. I won't make you wait any longer. Enjoy!_

It had been a long and hot day on patrol for Tasha. Though her village itself wasn't very large, the shadowed forest and cliff sides that surrounded it were extensive and often exhausting to traverse. Despite all the shade, the day still managed to be sweltering. She and Patter, a cream colored wolf, were glad when they were finally able to sit down and relax at her favorite udon stand. It was a strange way to spend one's birthday, but it didn't really matter to her. She hardly ever celebrated it, since she was the only one who even knew when it was.

"Hey Takashi. Can I have the usual for the two of us?" Takashi was the owner of the udon stand, and was quite a laid back guy. She knew him from school, and always wondered why someone who was so good at the arts would decide to run a restaurant instead of live the life of a ninja. She didn't really blame him. She would have done the same thing, if she wasn't the only surviving member of her clan. Tasha smiled up at Takashi as he set two bowls down on the low set table.

"Here you are Tasha. Two of the usual. How are you feeling today?" She recognized the questioning worry on his face. Tasha had almost forgotten. Today was also the day her family died. She gave him a small smile, shrugging.

"I'm about the same as usual Takashi. " Patter had already dug into her bowl of food, seemingly oblivious to her surroundings. Takashi nodded, giving her a soft pat on her shoulder before he went to serve another customer. Brushing a lock of chocolate colored hair from her face, she stared down into her bowl. Had it really been only eight years? It still felt fresh in her memory.

_It was the day of her tenth birthday. Her family was happily preparing the coming of age ceremony that was traditional for the clan. Everyone of the Oroki's would attend. All young children of the clan learned a special jutsu on their tenth birthday. It was more of a test to see who had the ability to summon the clan's patron spirit, the Great Wolf Oroki. It had only happened twice in the history of her clan, and there was always high hopes for each generation. It should have been a normal birthday, with nothing happening, as it usually did. Yet as soon as Tasha had stepped into the circle and the blood from her freshly cut palm hit the sanded floor, everything went to hell. The circle lit itself on fire, burning so hot that it turned the sand to glass, catching the wooden floor beneath them on fire. The clan franticly tried to put out the blaze. When it didn't work, they tried to evacuate, but the entire building was engulfed in a sealed barrier. The sound of her father's voice, laughing as he was engulfed in the heat. Tasha had been left in the middle of the burning circle, as her family panicked and tried to escape. Then his voice came through from the flames. _

"_**I shall take them from you, little follower. They will be your sacrifice in return for my powers. Do not let their deaths be in vein."**_

He took her family that day, all of her clansmen, all of the children. She was left alone. It hadn't been a fair price to ask of someone so young. He hadn't even given her a choice. She did gain the powers her clan had been seeking, and she put them to good use trying to protect her village. Though it almost didn't seem worth it. Tasha could summon Oroki's minions, wolves of various colors who granted her the ability to use certain types of jutsu or special abilities without having to learn them. Something so simple for something so precious. A soft huff caught her attention, and she looked up at Patter. She had finished her food, and was giving her a worried look. She realized then that her food was going cold, and she dug in. Patter herself was one of Oroki's minions, and was often at her side. It was a good thing that no one else in the village knew what really happened that day. Not only would she have lost her family, but she would have lost her home as well. As good of a village as it was, they weren't very understanding people.

"That was good." Tasha set her bowl aside, leaving money on the table before she got up. She waved goodbye to Takashi as she left, heading down the cobblestone street towards her apartment. It was going to be another lonely night. At least, it was supposed to be.

That very night she was awoken from her bed by the village alarm. Startled and weary, she got dressed, motioning for Patter to follow as she went out the door. The village was eerily quiet that night, as she made her way down the street. An explosion shook a building nearby, screams breaking the silence around her. Patter growled, looking up at the sky. Tasha followed her gaze, noticing a large, dark silhouette of a bird, hovering above the building. Gritting her teeth, Tasha leapt up the side of the building, launching herself into the air beside the strange object. She was startled by what she saw. The bird looked to be made of clay, a strange man clad in black and red upon it's back. _The Akatsuki?_ She recognized that cloak. But why were they here? The man looked her way as she landed atop a nearby building that had been undamaged by the explosion.

"Well this isn't good." Tasha mumbled to herself, reaching into her belt pouch as the clay bird circled around. It seemed as though he had come down from the cliffs above. There were easier ways of getting into the village, so this strategy made little sense to her. That was when she noticed there were other screams, and the sounds of the other shinobi clashing with someone. The battles echoed from different areas of the village. He wasn't alone? Tasha was clearly confused. There wasn't anything important in this village that she knew of, so this attack didn't make sense.

"Forget how much sense it makes, I have to stop it!" She shook her head, and darted across the rooftops after the bird. It was hazardous going, as the deranged man continued to rain bombs down onto the buildings below him. Dodging the ensuing blaze was no walk in the park either. She seemed to be loosing more time trying to avoid the collateral damage than actually pursuing the man. Grumbling, she paused on the roof of the bath house, watching as the bird continued to circle. It seemed to be going in a spiral pattern towards the center of the village. The inn was that way. It was like he was trying to herd something. Furrowing her brow, Tasha set off on an interception path. With Patter's assistance, in the form of a glowing transparent slope, she managed to leap over the buildings in her way and land upon the birds back. The man, who seemed startled by the sudden jolt that her landing caused, looked back at her with a frown.

"Get off of my art, un." He growled, as Tasha shoved an explosive kunai into the surprisingly soft back of the bird. The resulting explosion tossed the two of them to the ground as the clay creation shattered. The Akatsuki member managed to land on his feet in the town square. Tasha, who was much less graceful, plopped down upon a pillow shaped barrier Patter had made in advance. It was like landing on elastic, bouncing her a few times until she got her footing on solid ground. The Akatsuki member paused where he stood, ignoring the people who rushed past him in a blind panic as he glowered at her with a mix of loathing and fascination.

"You have no appreciation for the arts! I'll have to beat some sense into you, yeah." Tasha raised a brow. The man was just an inch or two taller than her, and looked quite girly in her opinion. She was never one to underestimate an opponent based on looks, but she couldn't seem to muster up the desire to take him seriously.

He pushed aside his cloak, pulling out a pair of kunai. Tasha sighed, realizing he was intent on his so called punishment, and took a stance. As the man lunged towards her the ground beneath them started to crack. Startled, Tasha moved back as fast as she could, watching as the Akatsuki member leapt over the crumbling ground, taking shaky footing just to the other side. Tasha dared a glance along the cracked ground, to see what appeared to be a giant lizard? She wasn't quite sure what it was. There was a woman beside it, and another Akatsuki member standing just out of the creature's reach. This one was wearing a bizarre orange mask. Tasha was starting to question the fashion choices of these people.

"What sort of absurd creature is that, un?" The blond male muttered, seeming agitated that it had interrupted his fight. The strange girl beside the dragon waved at Deidara, who rolled his eyes, quickly knocking aside a series of kunai that were tossed in his direction.

"Tsk. As irritating as ever, yeah." He growled, turning to look over at Tasha. She had pulled out a pair of kunai as well, frowning. That girl somehow knew these people. She didn't seem like one of them, but one never knew.

"I won't bother asking." She said, raising a brow before the two of them clashed blades. He was surprisingly strong for someone so small. She quickly found herself taking the defensive as he struck at her with not only his weapons, but arm numbing kicks as well. Patter, who finally caught up to the two, darted in to help. Patter nipped at the blond's heels, and the two of them launched a joint attack against him. She was only an A-rank shinobi, so she knew that she had no real chance against a S-rank missing-nin. All she could do was try and hold him off until the other shinobi got there. The three of them dodged and weaved around each others attacks, creating a strained mass of blades and teeth. Tasha was knocked back, sliding and almost tripping over a crack that had spread as they fought. She was panting now, holding a bleeding wound that stretched across her side. Patter was trying her best to hold off the blond as Tasha tried to catch her breath, before she would go darting right back into the fight, ignoring the wound.

"I'm going to heal that wound for you, if you don't mind." Tasha flinched, her kunai at ready as a female voice spoke up beside her. It was that woman. She had crouched down beside Tasha, looking at her wounded side. She gave the woman an apprehensive look, as she continued to speak. "You'll be no good to anyone if you are dead." Tasha shook her head, shifting to her feet. Patter was holding her own rather well against the blond, but she was starting to take damage.

"I'll just get hurt again. I doubt he's going to let me rest for very long." She said quickly, wincing slightly as an explosion took out Patter, who disappeared into a poof of smoke. The blond paused.

"A... summon...?" He said to himself, glancing over at Tasha for a moment in curiosity, before becoming infuriated. "Hey, no interfering you, un!" The girl stood up, seeming amused by the blond's actions. The ground beneath them was crumbling away faster as they stood there, and she wasn't sure how the two could continue arguing in this kind of environment.

"And what are you going to do about it? I am the one you came for after all, am I right?" Tasha's head snapped in the woman's direction. It was _her_ fault that this was happening? "And from the look of things, you aren't going to have much ground left to stand on." Tasha raised a brow as the woman then attempted to distract the blond with kunai, though he easily knocked them aside, looking irritated. This only caused the woman to laugh more.

"So what? I was trying to teach this art hater a lesson! You're a bother, un!" He growled, reaching into the belt under his cloak.

"Aww, are you going to try and blow me up Dei?" The woman seemed amused, shaking her head. Tasha had a bad feeling about all of this, and looked for a solid piece of ground nearby. It had cracks and chunks missing, but it was just about the right size. She made her way over to it, drawing a pattern on the ground with the blood from her wound as the ground continued to crumble. She performed the jutsu she had been passed down by her parents, before smacking the ground. Almost instantly a strange blue wolf popped up out of the shadow she cast on the blood.

"Rogue!" Tasha mumbled in relief, using the wolf to ease back up onto her feet. The village started to darken as clouds began to fill up the sky.

"Nice choice there kid." Tasha cast the woman a glower as the strange lizard picked her up. She hated being called a child. She had long outgrew it.

"I'm not a child." Tasha snapped, her hands in the Rat hand seal. A dark shadow spread across the cracked ground. The blond raised a brow, producing a bird and taking off into the air. Tasha scowled as the darkness engulfed the town square. She then made her way up onto a nearby rooftop, Rogue on her heels. "You aren't getting away that easily!" She shouted up as the Akatsuki member rose higher up into the sky. Rogue growled, fur bristling as Tasha jumped up into the air.

"Shadow blade justu!" Her hands drew back and flung forward, as she fell back into the swiftly rising darkness. A large, pitch black hand grabbed at the bird as it weaved and darted to avoid it. As this was happening, the strange woman and her giant lizard, (Or whatever it was.) took off into the air, attacking the blond as he tried to dodge. When it grew wings, she wasn't entirely sure. The air was full of flames, swirling wind and massive, angry shadows. The woman and the lizard chased after the bird. The Akatsuki member seemed to be getting desperate, muttering curses as his clay bird soared up towards the clouds. A Shadowed hand lifted out of the mass of darkness below, Tasha resting on the outstretched fingers. She was panting, blood seeping through her clothing and dripping through her fingers. She was exerting a lot of energy, maintaining the vicious attack. She didn't want him to escape, but she couldn't keep this up for much longer. He was already almost out of the reach of her jutsu. As she watched him climb farther and farther away from her, she let out a sigh, struggling over to the rooftop where she had left Rogue, and canceled the jutsu. He was too far away for her to bother anymore. The woman who seemed to be the cause of all of this took off after him, yelling something that was inaudible down where Tasha now sat. The village slowly filled with light, as Tasha watched the shadows of the two lizards racing up after him. At this point, she just wanted the troublesome scuffle to leave the village for good. Rogue whimpered beside her, licking at her fingers. A large explosion sounded off from the sky, shaking the entire village and dousing them with smoke. The faint outline of flames curled through the acrid air. The lizards were tossed back, one of them disappearing as the other struggled to catch its master as they fell. The blond was nowhere to be seen. The sound of flames spreading caught her attention, and Tasha remembered the village was on fire.

"Damn!" She cursed, struggling to her feet and jumped down into the burning streets. Water poured up from below as the other Shinobi and Kunnoichi occupied themselves with trying to put out the flames. At least now she knew what they had been doing while she had been fighting the Akatsuki member. She wasn't sure what had happened to the orange masked one. That didn't matter too much now.

"Sensei Akira!" An older man, clad in typical Jonin clothing, turned to look at her. He was her teacher from when she was an Academy student. He was one of the few ninja who still fought after their hair had turned gray.

"Little wolf! I see you aren't in too bad of shape." He called her by the pet name her clan had once used for their children, his eyes narrowed at the side she favored. He gestured his head towards the medical-nin. "Get that looked at. We can handle a little fire." Tasha nodded, making her way over to the medical team. She sat still as they cleaned and stitched her wounds, looking up only when a commotion rose up from nearby.

"Akira-san. We found someone lying out by the inn."A shinobi, much smaller Than the elderly man, shouted from around a corner. Akira raised a gray brow, his lips narrowing to a thin line.

"You'll have to throw them out. We can't trust anyone who isn't our own." The Shinobi nodded, ducking out of sight. It seemed a little harsh to Tasha, but she knew that it was just part of the many rules her small village followed. She flinched slightly at the prick in her side, looking down at the Medical-nin who tended her. It was another student she had gone to the academy with, though she couldn't quite place his name. She had no doubt he felt the same way towards her. She was just another injured among many. There were so many villagers with burns. It made her heart ache.

"Alright, you're good. " The Medical-nin pat her knee, going over to tend to another person. She would have to take it easy for a little while, but otherwise, she would be fine. She got to her feet and started helping out the other shinobi as they salvaged buildings.

-o.0.o.0.o.0.o-

Tasha was woken up the next morning by a knock at her apartment door. It was one of the few places unaffected by the fire. Struggling to her feet, Tasha pulled on some cloths and while trying not to trip over Rogue, answered the door. It was her sensei. She raised a brow at the old man, who gave her a sad smile.

"The elders have called for you." That couldn't be good. She swallowed, remembering the spectacle she had made of her powers yesterday. Definitely not good. Feeling a bit panicked, Tasha followed after him to the Town Hall. The Elders there were whispering quietly to one another. When she entered the room they went quiet, casting her silently judging looks.

"Ms. Oroki, it has come to our attention that you posses jutsu that you have not informed the council of. In light of this information, we have come to a conclusion." Their words started to fade out as she realized what was happening here. She was going to be jailed, or even killed. For something so pointless! She narrowed her eyes as the council continued to talk.

"... For the massacre of your clan.."

"The Massacre of my clan? What kind of nonsense is this? Are you all idiots? Fuck this!" She growled, turning on her heel as the council murmured behind her. Akira walked after her, clasping her shoulder and turning her to face him. Tears ran down her cheeks as she glowered up at him.

"Fuck this village." She shook herself free of him, grabbing hold of Rogue as he crawled from her shadow. She shrouded the area in darkness, and fled. She wasn't going to return to a place that thought she murdered her own family. They could rot for all she cared.

-o.0.o.0.o.0.o-

Pein was working on paperwork when a knock caught his attention. He glowered at the door for a moment, before he sighed. He should have expected that someone was going to ruin his peace and quiet.

"Come in Tobi." The door opened, and Pein rolled his eyes as Tobi practically skipped into the room, laughing.

"Pein! I've come to report!" He closed the door behind him at least. Pushing himself away from his desk, Pein leaned back in his chair, eying Tobi.

"Yes, Tobi, I gathered that. Get on with it." Tobi laughed. It was irritating.

"Well, obviously we didn't catch Lia-chan, but we did find out she is getting better with those dragons. We did someone who may be of interest though. She can summon Oroki's wolves." Pein gave him an irritated look, before raising a brow.

"Oroki? I have no idea what you are talking about." He grumbled, standing up from his chair. The name sounded familiar to him though, as odd of a name as it was. He walked over to his bookshelf, looking through his books until he found mention of it.

"Ah, I see. That _is_ interesting." He set the book on his desk, folding his arms in front of him.

"We'll have to bring her into the fold then. I know just who to use." Tobi nodded.

"At least the mission was somewhat useful." He was laughing, _again_. "See? Tobi is a good boy!" Tobi tilted his head, before continuing.

"Do you want Sempi and I to continue to pursue Lia-chan?" Pein nodded.

"Naturally. Go fetch Kisame and Itachi for me while you're at it. I want them to do something for me." With a dismissing glance Pein sat back down to finish his paperwork.

-o.0.o.0.o.0.o-

Tasha sighed, leaning against a nearby tree. The two of them had fled with all of their might into the forest. Her side ached, as stitches pulled sore skin. At least no one was chasing after her. Rogue looked up at her as she pulled her head band off, pressed it against the tree and used a kunai to gouge a deep gash in the symbol of her village. She wasn't going to associate herself with them any longer. From now on, she would be a missing-nin. Feeling satisfied, she tied the headband back around her thigh.

"Come on Rogue. We're on our own now." She said quietly, as his shadows engulfed her once more. As they walked off into the unknown, she had a creeping suspicion that she was being followed. She knew this was impossible though. No one could track her in Rogue's darkness. She hoped. She had never actually tried it out. She picked up her pace, and the two of them made good time.

Three days out in her journey to find a new home for herself, she noticed that the strange feeling of being followed had crept its way back in. She had switched out Rogue for Patter on the second night, and built herself a makeshift shelter. Perhaps she had just stayed in one place for too long. She was always at risk of being attacked by bandits, or rogue shinobi. With that in mind, she made sure to cover her tracks and pack up her camp. She'd have to shorten her breaks.

One week had passed. She was farther away from her village Than she had ever been in her life. She was in a mountainous region now, having left the relative safety of the forest days ago. Her side still ached, as she was working her body more Than she should have. It wasn't like she had a choice. She had begun hunting animals with her wolves to feed herself, but prey was harder to get while in such rocky terrain. Rogue seemed to increase her chances of a successful hunt, even if it was only a little, so she was using him more often in this new area more Than Patter. At least she was strong enough now to have the two of them out together, which deterred the larger predators. It was harder for her to make decent progress, and they had to use caves to rest. The feeling of being followed had gotten stronger, and she had become more, and more wary by the day. Today they were camped out beside a stream that carved itself through the rocky surface. It was beside a cave, so it was a perfect place to take a break. At least the strange feeling had dissipated since she had stopped, so she was at ease. As at ease as she could be out in the wilds of the mountains. They had a few fish for lunch, and sat around the warmth of the fire to ease aching joints. Tasha was just beginning to doze, when Rogue, who was resting his head against her stomach, began to growl. It wasn't long after that Patter seemed to sense whatever it was that Rogue had. Tasha opened a weary eye, and sat up. The two wolves had slunk down beside her, ears flattened menacingly.

"So is this the place Itachi-san?" Kisame questioned, looking over the cave with a raised brow. It looked unoccupied, and quite dim. He turned to his partner, his arms crossed.

"Are you sure you aren't just straining your eyes too much? I don't even hear anything coming from here." Itachi rolled his eyes at Kisame.

"Yes, I'm sure this is it. She's using the shadows to conceal herself from anyone who may be tracking her. As the Leader stated, she has wolves with her." Kisame nodded, a wide, toothy grin crossing his face.

"I hope this one puts up a fight better Than the last one we went after. I've been so bored lately." Kisame advanced towards the cave, curiously. "It still looks completely empty."

Tasha was on high alert now, the soft sound of voices drifting into the cave. There was someone out there, and she was sure by her wolves reaction that she wasn't going to like it. She got to her feet, wincing slightly as her side decided to complain, and edged her way farther back into the cave. The two wolves followed her, their ears still flat against their skulls. As she moved she noticed a large shadow pass in front of the cave entrance, and held in a gasp. Whoever it was, they were _huge_. Great, just what she needed to kick off her afternoon.

"Well, she is in there, and she's heading further into the cave. We need to strike now, before she ends up getting away through the back." Itachi motioned Kisame towards the back of the cave. The back of the cave... which was deeper in the mountain. Kisame raised a brow at him.

"Sure. I'll... do that..." Kisame stared at the cave for a few moments, then started walking around it. He was sure he'd find something eventually.

As Tasha stood there in a panic, the larger shadow moved away, replaced by a much smaller one. It was moving directly towards her, despite how dark the cave was. Her body tensed, her hand sliding to the pouch on her hip. As the figure, who she could now see was a man, or.. well.. she guessed it was a man. It might be. She really didn't have the time to ponder gender. As the figure got closer, Tasha moved further back. Patter unexpectedly launched herself forward, biting into the figure with vicious movements. Before Tasha could react, the cave burst with blinding light.

Outside, Kisame whistled. He had climbed on top of the cave, hoping the hole would be there, when the cave exploded with light.

"Well that was pretty." He murmured, watching with interest. Itachi blinked, momentarily blinded by the light.

"So the wolves are the ones with the jutsu?" He murmured to himself, walking over to the cave and standing in the entrance. Crows flew by overhead, and Tasha gulped. She didn't like what was going on. She felt a strange pull, and her head began to ache. Rogue let out a low growl, and Tasha took a moment to concentrate. She felt the shadows gathering around her, and light began to creep into the mix. Patter tried to blind the man with bursts of light, as Tasha's fingers twined themselves together in a jutsu she was unfamiliar with. She had a feeling that the man was trying to pull her into something, though she had no idea what. She didn't want to call another wolf, since the only one left she had in reserve was, to say the least, unreliable. Patter gave a strained yelp as the man tried to do something to her. As the air seemed to change, the jutsu completed itself. The ball of dark and light mixed together, launching itself at the man as a roaring... lizard? It reminded her of that woman's lizards. She wasn't even sure what she had done exactly, when she felt herself mutter words out of her own control.

"Shatter.." The lizard exploded the entrance of the cave, bringing the entrance of the cave down around itself. Tasha swallowed. She had essentially sealed the only entrance of this cave she knew. She had always wanted to try spelunking. Just not in a life or death situation. She wasn't even sure who was after her. All she knew was that she had to get away, fast. She turned on her heel, and bolted into the many twisting passages of the cave, the two wolves on her tail.

"Well... that was anticlimactic." Kisame muttered as he hoped down from his perch and walked over to Itachi. "So, Itachi-san. What's the plan?" There were many possible exits to the cave, and he wasn't sure he wanted to inspect them all. Itachi stared at him for a moment, before looking over his burned cloak.

"Well first, getting a new cloak. Then perhaps grabbing that brat and possibly killing those damn wolves of hers." He grumbled. Kisame laughed, his hands behind his head. There was no need to rush things, after all.

-o.0.o.0.o.0.o-

Tasha sighed, shaken from her encounter. She hadn't expected to be attacked when Rogue was cranking out his shadows so intensely. There was something strange about the shinobi she had encountered, but she wasn't exactly sure what it was. That was something to worry about if she ever came face to face with them again. She really hoped that would never come to happen. For now, they had to get out of the cave. The three of them wandered for what seemed like ages, before finally finding an exit. It led to an opening near the river, and Tasha paled, realizing that it was not far from where she had started. She didn't think she was going to like this mountain very much. Especially if Rogue's abilities weren't going to help her against the residents. It was getting dark, which was a good thing at least. It would be near impossible for someone to notice the area around them getting darker, or shifting unusually. Despite how tired she was, she decided it was best to move now and get as far away from this place as possible. The three of them ran as fast as their legs would carry them, careful to avoid as many open areas as they could. By the time they finally stopped, the sun had just started to creep up along the horizon. What greeted her tired eyes made her groan. Before her was what seemed to be a near endless field. She _hated_ fields. She flopped down on a nearby rock, resting her had on Rogue's head as he sat beside her, panting. Patter circled around the two, her tail wagging excitedly. Patter liked fields. It was much easier on her wolves bodies. Not so easy on hers. She preferred the speed that trees gave, and the security that you would be harder to see. She was going to be a giant sitting duck out here. A sleepy, starving duck. At least there would be a decent amount of animals around to eat. She was going to be tired of meat by the time she found a tree again. Patter flopped down on the ground beside Rogue, resting her head upon her paws. They needed sleep, as uncomfortable as she was out here. She eased her way between the two wolves, wrapping her arms around Rogue's neck and burying her face in his fur. There was no point in worrying about it. She was just going to have to suck it up and live with it. A Kunnoichi had to take care of themselves. You never knew what you would have to face, and a fight while you were exhausted was never a good thing. With a few lingering thoughts of loathing for the place, Tasha managed to drift off into fitful slumber.


	2. A Fish and a Weasel

The Akatsuki and the Great Oroki Redux

Chapter 2

It had been almost a month since Tasha had left her village. She was getting used to the sight of endless grassy plains, with the occasional tree to sleep under. She was convinced she was somehow walking in circles. She had grown to hate having to hunt for her own food, and the few things she could find that weren't meat, were not worth the effort it took to harvest them. She was currently resting under one of the trees she had found, tending to the rabbits she was roasting over her small fire. She hated that it was so hard to find proper burnable wood. She had tore down many a bush just to eat a warm meal recently. She was malnourished, exhausted, and in a terrible mood, but at least no one had assaulted her in awhile. What she wouldn't do to find a village right about now. And a new wardrobe would be nice. She had only a few changes of cloths and supplies stored away in secret stashes she had made before she exiled herself from the village. Her scrolls let her access them when needed, but the supply was running low. Though even if she did find a village, she didn't have much coin to buy supplies in the first place. She would have to steal. She hated the idea, but desperation drew the worst out of people. To make her day even more unpleasant, she hadn't seen hide nor hair of Patter in days. She had tried summoning her back, but there had been no response. Rogue stuck to her side like glue at least. She always knew where he was, because she was constantly tripping over him. She had finally given up and had been under this tree for a few days.

A bark caught her attention, and Tasha looked around curiously. In the distance she could just barely see a pale coated animal making it's way towards them. As it got closer, she could make out the shape of bags. It wasn't long before she realized it was Patter, and she ran out to greet her. The wolf had gone out and gotten supplies. Tasha hugged the animal, who panted, covering her face in sticky drool. Tasha had never thought she would be so happy to see a bag of rice in her whole life. They made their way back to the tree, where Patter went promptly to sleep. It seemed as though she had been traveling nonstop the past few days. She deserved the rest. Tasha went about storing the supplies in a scroll, but not without first making herself and the wolves some of the rice. They ate in content silence. It would be dark before they would be on the move again. At least she knew now that a village was only a few magical wolf days away. She would be able to rest in a real bed, after what seemed like an eternity.

-o.0.o.0.o.0.o-

Kisame and Itachi had been searching for this girl for what seemed like ages. She seemed to be very good at running great distances. He kind of liked her spirit. She wasn't making it easy on them. Though she was perhaps just a terrible fighter. They would find out soon enough, as Itachi had finally figured out where she was. Who would have thought she would be camping out in a giant field?

"We are to get rid of the wolves first." Itachi didn't seem to like the wolves very much, Kisame noticed. They were a bit of a nuisance, he agreed, but they were only animals.

"Alright. It's not much of a challenge to kill two little wolves." He gave Itachi a toothy grin. Itachi rolled his eyes at him.

"Just don't let your guard down around the wolves, would ya?" Kisame chuckled. Itachi was always the worrywart, even if he didn't tend to show it. At least they got to spend a lot of time out in the open, fresh air. Though he would kill to sit in some shade every now and then. The place was hot. He rather commended the girl for being able to stand it.

"Yeah yeah. If a little tailed beast couldn't take me down, I doubt a couple of wolves will." Unless they weren't just any normal wolves. It was weird enough that they could perform jutsu on their own. You never really knew what could be accomplished by a determined enough shinobi.

"Don't get cocky. We don't know what those wolves are capable of." Itachi warned him. Kisame already knew that, but made no move to comment. He knew the heat got to them both, so fighting amongst themselves was pointless. In the distance Kisame could see the shape of a tree, with three figures lying beneath it. Was the girl taking a nap? He didn't really blame her. He tried to walk a bit quieter. They were at an advantage if she wasn't aware of their presence.

"I spy with my little eye..." Kisame grinned mischievously.

Rogue was unusually nervous, Tasha noticed. The wolf had woken her up from her slumber, and was growling at something. Looking around, she saw what looked to be a blur of black and red. It was hot, so it could have been a mirage. Still, she wasn't sure she wanted to take that chance. But Patter was out cold, and she and Rogue were sore and lethargic from the heat. Still, she wasn't going to leave herself defenseless because she wanted to rest!

Itachi stopped suddenly, catching Kisame's attention. He stopped and stared at his companion. He was watching the girl and her wolves with rapt attention.

"One of the two wolves is out cold while the other seems to be rather nervous and has spotted us." Ah. Something they could use to their advantage. If the wolves were weakened, then he'd have an easier job than he thought.

"What a lucky day today is." Kisame just wanted to get this all over and done with. He was tired of walking.

"Fuck." Tasha finally realized what the colors she was seeing belonged to. The Akatsuki. Hadn't they caused enough chaos in her life as it was? Why were they even here? Rogue growled in response to her words, standing on sore limbs to put his body in front of her own. Tasha shook her head, using the tree to get to her feet with a sigh. "Wake Patter up Rogue. I know she is tired, but I need her to do something for me. The two of us will have our hands full with this mess as it is." Rogue looked up at her with a worried expression, but leaned over and shook Patter awake with his jaws.

"Patter, listen to me hun." Patter, looking sour, turned her head to gaze at Tasha from where she lay. "Go back to your realm, and get Midnight for me. I doubt I'll be able to summon him on my own. My chakra needs to be devoted to this. Can you do that for me?" Patter seemed startled, but nodded. She stood shakily, before she leapt at Tasha, disappearing into her shadow.

"Rest up my friend." She murmured. Rogue gave an approving nod, before turning to growl once more at the men approaching them, his fur standing on end. She pulled out a pair of Kunai from her waist pockets, and looked towards the horizon with apprehension.

Itachi nodded at Kisame's words, as he continued to watch the girl. Kisame was curious as to why they didn't just jump her now since she was so defenseless, but he had never been one to question his companions plans. When one of the girl's wolves disappeared, he was startled, to say the least.

"Summons?" Kisame could hear the inquiry in Itachi's voice as he spoke, and Kisame shrugged.

"There's only one real way to find out isn't there? Kill one and see if it leaves a nice bloody patch on the ground." He was raring to go, tho a bit disappointed that he would only be fighting one wolf. Itachi sighed, pulling out a Kunai in response to the girl's actions. Kisame raised a brow at him, knowing how much he hated physical confrontations. It couldn't be avoided, if Itachi believed it was so.

"Seems here's your chance to try out that theory." Kisame rolled his eyes, and made his way towards the tree.

"It would be my pleasure." Kisame drew his sword, a large blade wrapped in strange bandages, clashing with the wolf as it charged him. Rogue was sent flying backwards, sliding into Tasha's legs. She made a startled noise, bracing herself as Rogue got back up, and used her to launch himself at Kisame. He seemed amused, grinning as he swung at the wolf like it was a ball. Time seemed to move so slowly as the wolf, growing more tired by the minute, struggled to keep off his attacker. Tasha did not stand idle while this happened. She gave the wolf small boosts of her chakra every time they touched, and her fingers had started to twist into a familiar jutsu. Tasha was so absorbed in her attention to the fight, she hardly noticed the other male as he approached her. She only seemed to realize it when a strange tingle ran up her spine, her hands freezing in place. She looked up in mortification, and her eyes met a pair of blazing red ones. She gulped, taking a step back.

"I think I've had about enough of your jutsus." Tasha winced, confused at how someone who looked so annoyed could have such a nice voice. Either way, now was NOT the time to be thinking such things. Kisame let out an annoyed noise as Rogue latched onto his arm. He shook himself free, and the wolf slid across the ground behind him.

"And I think I've had enough of being stalked, you creep." Tasha muttered, her eyes straying slightly to better examine her foe. He was a bit taller than the blond from before, though still shorter than the tall blue one who's face seemed to be in a perpetual grin. Pulling her fingers from the jutsu that Rogue had been trying to get her to perform, she braced herself for whatever this strange man was up to. She really hated genjutsu users. For Shinobi who couldn't perform such feats, there was often little they could do against it. And she wasn't about to stab herself just so she could throw jutsu at him.

"You are coming with us." She blushed as he purposely locked his gaze with her's. She had almost missed his words. Oh no, that was not happening.

"Oh no I'm not. What nonsense are you spouting?" She growled, baring slightly pointed teeth. A loud whimper made her tear her gaze away from Mr. Red eyed and glowering, to see Rogue, his blood staining the grass below him. She cursed as he went up in a poof of smoke. She was alone now. And Midnight was being his usual procrastinating self. She gulped as the blue man turned to his partner.

"It was a summon alright. Oh, you were busy. I'll let you finish up than." The man chuckled, and went to sit down, amused. She cast him a glower, backing up as she tried not to look back at the genjutsu user. Even if he was appealing to the eye, it was never a good thing to stand there like an imbecile.

"Very smart of you, but you are already stuck." Tasha hated to admit that the man was right, as she couldn't seem to make herself move back any farther. She struggled, to no avail, and disliked the thought that she would really have to stab herself to get away.

"You ass-hat!" She growled in frustration. At leat the other guy she would have been more comfortable fighting! He didn't look like he even understood what the word genjutsu meant. She just wanted to be left alone. Why couldn't these people understand that? Out of no where, the man started laughing.

"Well what an insult." Tasha scrunched up her face at him, clearly irritated.

"Forgive me for failing to see the humor in this." She grumbled. She didn't like this one bit. "Why exactly are you guys bothering me anyway?" She questioned. If she could ask enough questions, maybe she could delay long enough for Midnight to get off his lazy ass. She hoped. If he didn't come to her rescue she was going to be more than a little peeved. The man groaned, shaking his head.

"You might as well stop it with the questions, you're not going anywhere now." The man stated before pinning her to the tree with a kunai.

"Kisame, why don't you strip her of her chakra, so that we can get this over with." Kisame smirked. He had been wanting to do this for quite awhile now.

"Well, I don't like how this looks. You get yourself in some strange situations hun." Tasha's face lit up at the voice, which was deep, and had a hint of dark intentions. Kisame was to his feet within moments, looking around for the source of the voice. The shadow of the tree began to shimmer, and out climbed a large black wolf.

"Midnight! You beautiful son of a bitch! I could hug you if I could move!" The wolf gave her a lopsided grin, placing his body between her and the two Akatsuki.

"I'll fix it, calm down you big baby." She loved Midnight, even if he used genjutsu. She let out a breath, feeling her body relax. She reached up, plucking the kunai from the tree. Her strap was cut now, hanging down across her shoulder. She cast the red eyed man a glower, as Midnight gave a toothy, creepy grin.

"Another wolf? How many of those things do you have?" Kisame muttered, eying the wolf dubiously. This one looked much more dangerous than the others, and was at least twice their size.

"Great, another one.' The red eyed Akatsuki grumbled, pulling more Kunai from his cloak. Kisame didn't waste time, engaging the wolf. He was rightfully surprised when he was the one knocked back. He gave Itachi a perplexed look, as the wolf shuffled his feet. He could do this on his own. Besides, Tasha couldn't really use any of Midnight's jutsu. She wasn't sure if he didn't have any, or just didn't want to share. Either way, she didn't like the look of the black tendrils seeping from his fur.

"I'm not just another one. But you probably guessed that by now. If not, shame on you.' Midnight bared his teeth, launching himself viciously at Kisame. Kisame struggled against the wolf's attacks, looking more confused by the minute. He was bloody before he realized it, and backed away, giving the wolf a glower mixed with a strange appreciation. Midnight cocked one ear in Tasha's direction. She was standing still, looking at him expectantly.

"Use your own skills for this. He is scrawny, you 'll be fine." Tasha rolled her eyes, her grip tightening on the kunai in her hand.

"Right. I doubt that somehow."

"Leave the wolf to me, you get the girl." Kisame still seemed perplexed, looking from Itachi to Tasha, and then back to Midnight. Midnight tilted his head, giving Itachi a malevolent grin.

"Oh, so you want to take me on?" He moved away from Kisame, brushing up against Tasha's leg. One of his smokey black tendrils attached itself to her arm. Kisame, who seemed to have snapped out of it, glowered at the wolf before wincing in pain. He had a feeling he would be better off against the girl. Tasha paled a bit at the prospect of fighting someone so much larger than herself. She would rather fight the red-eyed one. With one final circle, Midnight detached himself from Tasha, and launched himself at Itachi. He was never one to mince words. Tasha and Kisame looked at one another for a few moments, before Kisame launched himself at her with frightening speed. She squeaked, raising her arm in a motion to defend herself. Something pulled at her insides, and she flinched as her arm went numb. Kisame had intended to punch her right in the face, but instead met the staff of a scythe. A gift from Midnight. He was being generous today. It already made Tasha worried.

Itachi managed to dodge Midnight's attack, tossing a kunai as the wolf slid and turned to make another pass. The Kunai grazed against Midnight's fur. He chuckled, amused by the action.

"Genjutsu against genjutsu, fair if you ask me. But, I know that you're also not going to stick to it."

"Genjutsu? Who said anything about genjutsu?" The wolf charged at him, snapping his jaws at the man's legs. He missed on purpose, taking a mouthful of cloak and pulling it along with him as he moved past. Tasha struggled to deflect Kisame's blows with her scythe, as she had never been very good with long handled weapons. It didn't help that Kisame had drawn his sword, which ached every time it clanked against the strange material. Letting out a surprised sound, Itachi stumbled against the tugging of the cloak that the wolf had in his mouth. Suddenly the body dissolved into crows that flew up into the sky, tossing shadows across the ground. Jumping out of the tree and landing gracefully on the ground, Itachi looked towards the female before looking back at the wolf.

"Apparently you missed half of my comment." Midnight sat down, and chuckled.

"No, little Uchiha, I didn't." A voice sounded from beside him, where Midnight looked up at him. The Midnight that had been taunting Itachi was nowhere to be seen. Blazing green eyes smiled at him. "Just know I won't play your games."

Tasha was struggling miserably as Kisame knocked her back like a toy She slid, panting. This really was a terribly one-sided fight. She felt lethargic for some reason, before she realized the blue freak was siphoning off her chakra. Laughing, Itachi shook his head.

"Who said anything about games? I'm not the one that you need to worry about playing games, that's Tobi's job."

"Midnight, I want to leave..." Midnight twitched an ear in her direction, and rolled an eye.

"Alright little one." He moved away from Itachi, and towards Tasha, as she moved to block another swipe from Kisame. Itachi raised a brow and threw a kunai at the wolf.

"Who said I was done with you? Kisame, don't let her go." Kisame rolled his eyes in Itachi's direction.

"Working on it. She's more resilient than I'd have thought." Midnight's head whipped around, catching the kunai and crushed it in his jaws. The pieces clattered to the ground as he glowered at Itachi. He wasn't in the mood. Growling, he walked back over to Itachi, and bit him in the leg, before he started to pull him in he direction he wanted to go. Tasha was busy trying not to fall over, her breath coming in heavy gasps. Her arms had gone numb, and the only thing that seemed to keep her going was the scythe in her hands. It was warm against her skin, and offered much needed motivation. She really didn't want to go anywhere with these weirdos. She just hadn't quite expected to be ambushed. All things considered, she felt like she was doing quite well, considering the circumstances.

Yelping, Itachi struggled against the wolf, trying to get his leg out of the crushing jaws. Grabbing a few more kunai out of his pouch, he threw them at the wolf, trying desperately to make it let go. Thinking for a moment, he had to think of a way to get rid of this wolf and take the girl back to the base with their lives still intact.

"Kisame, I need you to get rid of this wolf, now." Kisame looked back at Itachi as he called for help. It was a rare moment, but he didn't really blame him. The wolf had it's jaws, full of large, vicious teeth, clamped hard onto his partner's leg. The wolf was ignoring the kunai thrown at him, like they were nothing but annoying flies. He really wasn't used to seeing his partner at the mercy of anyone, much less a talking wolf. He gave a sigh, pushing Tasha back, so she stumbled and fell back. Her body was shaking fro strain, but he commended her for lasting as long as she had.

"Just hold on." Kisame walked over to his partner, who had been pulled almost halfway to where Tasha was now panting. He reached down, and tried to pry the wolf's jaws open. A surprised look crossed his face when he couldn't even make the wolf flinch. His brows knit together, and he pulled harder, the muscles in his arm visibly straining. Midnight growled, shaking his head, and in turn, Itachi's leg, violently.

"Hold on you damned animal!" Kisame cursed under his breath, trying to stop the animal, unsuccessfully, from moving. Tasha, who had struggled to her feet, took the opportunity to creep slowly away from the three. Midnight could hold his own well, unlike her, and was giving her a chance. She was taking it. As soon as she could move fast enough.

Blood seeped through Midnight's jaws as Itachi continued to struggle. Kisame clenched his jaws as he continued to pull, before he left go with a huff. He shook his arms, trying to loosen the muscles as he glowered at the wolf.

"What kind of beast are you?" He questioned the wolf, who seemed to be content with simply shaking his massive head and tugging Itachi in a circle. Midnight seemed amused with his new toy. Kisame stood there, trying to puzzle out a way to dislodge the wolf from Itachi,without cutting off his leg. Tasha had managed to set a good pace, and was far enough away that she could barely make out their shapes. Of course, she was using the Scythe as a crutch, but no one needed to know that.

"Would you not worry about what kind of beast this thing is and just get me loose." Itachi growled, finally starting to lose his cool under such a condition. Kisame rolled his eyes. He understood why his partner was grumpy, but he didn't have to yell at him. It wasn't like he wasn't trying. He tried to grab hold of the wolf again, who simply dragged him along as well. Kisame tried to use his weight, which he was sure was more than the wolf, to hold it in place. Midnight slowed a little, but still continued to drag Itachi about. Annoyed, Kisame let go and pulled out his sword.

"I think we should cut off your leg." Kisame announced, looking intently at the limb clenched between Midnight's teeth. Hearing what Kisame stated, Itachi looked at him as if he had lost his mind.

"You're kidding me right?" Shaking his head, he looked at the wolf. "No, there's got to be a different way than just shaving my leg off, especially with that sword of yours. You are not touching my leg with that thing." Kisame looked disappointed, before he turned to look for the girl. Perhaps he could force her to make the wolf comply. He froze for a moment, and walked around the tree before he spoke.

"Where did she go?" Tasha was nowhere to be found. Midnight chuckled in amusement. He had given his master more than enough time to escape. He gave Itachi's leg a few more shakes for the fun of it, before he let the man go, bowing to them. His jaws, still red with blood, spread in a malevolent grin. Panting, Itachi stared at the wolf.

"It's been a pleasure toying with you, little Uchiha." There was a low laugh, as the wolf seemed to dissolve. Staring at the spot where the wolf just dissolved, he cursed and kicked his leg against the ground before wincing. Kisame cursed, crouching down to look at his partner.

"Well that was unexpected." He sighed.

"You think?" Kisame just shook his head.

"Oh lighten up man. It's not like we can't try again. At least we know that wolf is bad luck." Kisame pat his partner on the shoulder, offering him an arm. His partner was in no shape to fight, and he personally didn't want to face that wolf again. He felt like someone, or something, was still watching them. Itachi took the arm that was offered, knowing that he wasn't going to be able to stand properly, let alone fight. Groaning, they started towards the base so that they could rest up and prepare to try and get her, yet again. This girl was beginning to get on his nerves already.

"Where's Tobi when you need him?" He grumbled.

-o.0.o.0.o.0.o-

"Thank you. I know you didn't have to help me out there." Tasha whispered quietly. She was happy that they had finally come into the sight of trees, a village sitting on the edge of a forest. It had taken her three days of running, as tired as her body was, just to get there. Midnight appeared beside her in a soft unfolding of shadows. He had licked his muzzle clean of blood days ago, and looked lazily amused.

"Indeed. But I like you, since you treated my younger tier well. One day you will be able to wield me properly, but I feel that day is far in the distance." Midnight looked up at her, giving her a soft grin that reminded her of what he used to be. She had been startled to realize that the wolves came in tiers. So when her beloved Shade, small and puffy, left her, only to be replaced by the monstrously sized Midnight, she wasn't sure quite how to handle it. She still was unsure, but she knew she would get the hang of it eventually. She hoped. She gave Midnight his scythe back as they approached the edge of the forest. She wasn't going to go inside of the village, since she had more than enough supplies to last her until she decided where she would go. From what she had gathered from Midnight's horrendously obscure explanation, there were three tiers of wolves. She, being an unaccustomed summoner, could control tier one wolves. Eventually, these wolves would "grow up" as Midnight put it, and change into another wolf altogether. Midnight had been the first to do it. She feared the day the others joined him. It took days for Patter and Rogue to recover from the fight with the Akatsuki, but she was glad that they seemed fine. She had Rogue gather supplies from the village, before they set off.

-o.0.o.0.o.0.o-

Seven whole months. She had been away from her village for so long, it almost felt like she never even had one to begin with. Her hair needed a good trim, her cloths were worn in many places, and patched with scavenged cloths, but at least they covered the important areas. She looked a bit worn down. Other than that, she was fine. It had been a long time since she had been attacked, and she even managed to settle down in a nice little place she had built. She now lived by the sea, in a small house made out of driftwood and palm trees. Sure, the occasional storm ruined her day, but at least she could fish, and her home was easier to defend. It was nice to have a roof over her head sometimes, even if she didn't have a proper bed. Midnight would sometimes drop by on a whim, dropping off the odd package or two of supplies. She was never sure why he felt she needed so many weapons, when her weapon stores were full. Nor why he seemed to think she didn't have enough paper. What he wanted her to do with it, she was unsure. Currently, she was resting in a hammock she had constructed from scraps, her fingers lazily tangled in the fur of Patter, who slept beneath her. Rogue was perched on the roof of the patchwork house, chasing after seagulls.

Kisame had been bored the entire four months that it took Itachi to heal. That wolf had really done a number on his leg. He was amazed how he had managed to avoid scars. Either way, they still had to catch the girl, as bothersome as she was. Maybe he could cut off her legs so she couldn't run away from them. Kazuku could always sew them back on. Either way, with the time they spent looking for her, they could have gotten so many other things done. Really, how unique could an animal user really be? And the distances this woman crossed! Past mountains, through gigantic fields and forests. At least they now knew where she was camping out. She seemed to have been taking it easy without them around to ruin her day. Kisame groaned, hoping that they wouldn't encounter that crazed wolf again. Not with all the time it took them to find the beach she had turned into a home. A beach surrounded by cliffs no less.

"This should be interesting, eh Itachi-san?"

"Interesting wouldn't exactly be the word I would use for it." He grumbled. Just the thought of that damn wolf made his leg ache with a phantom pain. Clenching his teeth, he watched as one of the wolves chased after seagulls on the roof.

"Seems now's our chance. We'll take out the one on the roof first, then take her by surprise." Kisame eyed the blue wolf on the roof of the shabby looking building. It did look pretty occupied. The girl herself seemed to be dozing in a hammock on the far side. They would have to move swiftly. But it could be done. Maybe today was their lucky day. Nodding his consent to the plan, he gauged the distance to the roof.

"You know I'm not very good at finesse, so if I take it out, she is going to know right away." Kisame murmured. He always seemed to make a lot of noise in his attacks. Nodding, Itachi looked towards the makeshift house.

"I know, that's why you're going to engage the wolf and I'm going to take her out before she notices anything going on." He activated his sharingan and started approaching the house. Kisame raised a brow, but didn't question it.

"You're the boss." Kisame leapt from the cliff, slamming down on the roof of the house. The building wobbled, and Rogue let out a startled yelp as a sword struck him in the side. The house quickly crumbled beneath Kisame as Rogue was sent flying into the nearby cliff face. He walked over to the wolf as it struggled to get up, growling low in it's throat.

Tasha was startled by a loud thud, groggily opening her eyes. The trees that her Hammock hung from were at the very edge of the sea, a bit farther from her house than she wanted, but she wasn't that picky. Patter's ears perked, and she raised her head. A soft growl escaped her throat, catching Tasha's attention. She let out a groan. Seriously? These guys again? Where was Rogue? She instantly began searching for him, sliding clumsily from her hammock.

Jumping down from the cliff, Itachi landed a few feet from where she was and watched as she climbed out of the hammock. He quickly attempted to drag both her and the wolf into a genjutsu so that he wouldn't have to worry about the wolf as well as her. Tasha, having experienced Itachi at least once already, made sure not to meet his gaze. She wasn't as much of an idiot as many took her for. Patter was on her feet now, her thin fur bristled as her back arched. If a gray hound could imitate a cat, it would look just like Patter did, her fur glowing softly in her anger.

"Raptor on a stick, what do _you_ want again?" Tasha growled, spotting Rogue pinned against the cliff by Kisame. There wasn't much she could do to help him, so she dismissed him with a small gesture of her hand. He could easily be summoned back this way, instead of having to wait for him to heal. Kisame blinked as the blue wolf disappeared without him having to injure it. He looked questioningly at Itachi, who he assumed was trying to use his sharingan. Itachi shrugged at her words, tossing kunai at Patter. She artfully dodged them, her fangs bared in annoyance.

"Why, you of course." He stated simply. Tasha scoffed at the simplistic answer, edging her way away from him. She seriously couldn't believe that the Akatsuki would want her for anything. Except maybe to amuse themselves. She wasn't particularly fond of that idea. Nor was she fond of the smile on his lips.

"Right... Because that is so believable." She rolled her eyes, as Kisame made his way to Itachi's side.

"Can I just cut off her legs? It would be so much easier..." Tasha paled at that thought, her hands resting on her pouches. She doubted Midnight would want to make a miraculous appearance right then. He never believed in something so convenient. Itachi shrugged.

"If you believe that it would make things easier, be my guest. Just don't kill her." He seemed to be waiting for her reaction. It was a delayed one. In fact, she stood there, even as he continued speaking. Itachi looked towards his partner.

"She is very important to the leader." It finally sunk in, as she watched the wide grin spread across Kisame's face. Tasha gave a reaction alright. She turned deathly pale, and bolted. Screw fighting. She wasn't going to stick around and get her _legs_ cut off by an over zealous fish. Patter was right on her heels, creating steps for Tasha to climb as she reached the cliff.

"_Fuck_ that." Kisame frowned as the girl quickly made her way up the cliff. He was after her as soon as he realized she was moving, scaling the cliff as they reached the top. What was waiting for her at the top was not what she has wanted.

"Going somewhere?" Tasha shrieked, reflexively trying to move back away from Itachi. She slipped, scrambling as she slid down the face of the cliff, right into the waiting arms of Kisame. She squirmed, and Patter, who hadn't fallen, jumped down, landing square on Kisame's head. He cursed, batting at the wolf who clung to his head,while trying to hold onto the girl with the other. It wasn't long before she had stabbed her kunai into the flesh of Kisame's arm. He growled in annoyance. A kunai struck Patter in the spine. She gave a whimper before disappearing. Kisame gave a sigh of relief, willingly handing the girl to his partner when he reached for her. As Tasha continued to struggle in Itachi's arms, Kisame pulled the kunai from his arm, shaking it with a grimace.

"Little witch." He muttered, before he looked amused at the sight of Itachi trying to hold the girl. She was smaller than him by only a little bit, and was struggling and pushing at him in a valiant effort to get away. She clearly didn't like being held. At least not like she was a doll.

"Let... me... go!" Tasha growled as she clawed at her captor.

"Now why would I do that doll?" He asked as he forced her to look at him. She struggled against the hand that held her head, her eyes reflexively closing.

"I'm not a doll!" She scowled, grabbing hold of his arm and tugging. Being held like this was making her feel uncomfortable in more way than one. She just wanted to get away as fast as she possibly could. Her nails would leave painful welts where she had dug them in, though she regretted that the damage wouldn't be permanent. Itachi continued his struggle to hold onto her.

"You sure do look like one to me." Itachi laughed, shaking his head.

"Now let me go!"

"No." Kisame chuckled at the girl in amusement. For her size she put up a pretty good fight.

"Feisty isn't she?" He said with a toothy grin, having wrapped his wound.

"No kidding." Tasha made a noise of frustration, trying to pull her head out of his grip, kicking and snarling. She obviously wasn't taking this very well. Kisame raised a brow, wondering what his partner was going to do. He was almost tempted to help the guy. Some of those scratches looked like they hurt. Itachi, still struggling, raised a brow at his partner.

"You... going to be okay carrying her Itachi-san?" Kisame questioned skeptically.

"I'm just peachy. How about you?" He stated sarcastically before he began to walk. She ended up kicking him hard in the side. Loosening his grip, he gasped for breath. Kisame tried, unsuccessfully, to hold in a laugh. Tasha tugged and pushed, wiggling her body in his grip. She was determined to get away. It was ridiculous enough she had been caught so simply. She wasn't going to make their lives any easier.

"You aren't going to take me _anywhere_ with you! You creepy stalkers!" Tasha huffed. Itachi glowered at his partner when he noticed he was trying not to laugh.

"Why don't you take the beating for awhile?" Itachi rasped. Kisame raised a brow, chuckling as he reached over, taking hold of the squirming girl.

"You decided to take her on your own man. I know she looks all weak compared to me, but you have to be careful." Tasha soon realized that struggling against the mass of flesh that was Kisame, was kind of pointless. She crossed her arms in a huff, her eyes still closed tightly. Itachi rolled his eyes, trying to take a deep breath. He winced. That was definitely going to leave a bruise.

"Wimp." She muttered. Kisame just laughed, slinging her over his shoulder like a rag-doll. She gave a little screech, pounding on his back in complaint.

"You could have made this _SO_ much easier on yourself. But you insisted on running and fighting us. Hey, at least your stupid wolves aren't dead. Yet." Tasha went still at Itachi's words. Kisame glanced at her with a raised brow, wondering at her sudden stillness.

"You're an idiot." She whispered quietly. Kisame snorted, as he started up the cliff.

"Strange that you should be the one to say that." He commented. She had propped her head, eyes still closed, up on one arm, pressed against Kisame's back. She wasn't going to get out of his grip, so her best bet was that at some point, he would have to put her down. That or she was rescued. Which was a bit of a long shot. Itachi shrugged.

"Perhaps or perhaps not, doesn't much matter to me, especially now that we finally have you." Itachi followed after Kisame slowly, until eventually they reached the top. Tasha had remained silent the rest of the way, until she seemed to finally have something to say.

"No, you are definitely an idiot." She murmured in a bored tone. She was going to hate having to time things with her eyes closed. She had no idea where they were going, or even what was going on around her. For all she knew, the idiot could be making faces at her.

"Now now children. This is not the time to be fighting." Kisame lectured, like he was one to talk. While they had paused, Tasha heard the rustle of movement. Before she knew it, something wet brushed her forehead. She raised a brow. Had someone... just licked her?

"Erm... I am pretty sure I'm not food..." She commented. Kisame, hearing this, looked back at his partner.

"Itachi-san... what are you doing?" His puzzlement was apparent. He didn't understand why his partner was licking their prey. "I don't think right now is a good time for taste testing." Tasha snorted at that, raising a sleeve to wipe her forehead.

"Weirdo." She muttered. Itachi laughed before looking back at Kisame.

"Just making sure she's ripe." Tasha scoffed, frowning in the general direction of her kidnapper. She was not a fruit. She opened her mouth to protest, when a pair of lips met hers. Her eyes snapped open, her face going a bright red. Itachi stood there, grinning at her. She felt violated somehow. He actually _kissed_ her.

"Wha...?" She had the most puzzled look on her face, having completely forgotten why her eyes had been closed in the first place. Kisame whistled, amused.

Before she realized it, she was dragged down into a rather strange genjutsu. Why, in the name of all that was good, was she tied to a chair, faced by clones of Itachi? For that matter, why did they feel the need to undress? Her face was twisted into one of distress, as Kisame gave Itachi a questioning look.

"Well, I think she's out for the count for awhile." Itachi said with a smug look on his face. Kisame pursed his lips, but went back to walking.

"You'll hurt yourself if you do that for too long, Itachi-san." Kisame reminded, not even bothering to ask what his partner was making her see. Judging by the confused and distressed noises she was making, it was something weird. Probably not the best choice his partner had ever made.

They had been walking for awhile, and the girl had gone completely limp against Kisame's back. A soft whimpering noise was all the sound she made. Kisame was overcome with curiosity as to what was incapacitating her so badly.

"So, Itachi-san. What exactly are you showing her? I don't think I've ever seen such a traumatized look on a girl's face." Itachi only shook his head, his eyes closed as he walked. Kisame raised a brow.

"Hurts?" He questioned. Tasha felt relieved when the genjutsu finally diminished. This guy obviously had a lot of suppressed feeling that she hoped he never acted on. Quietly, so as not to draw either of their attention, she performed a summoning jutsu. Rogue popped up out of Kisame's shadow, clamping his jaws around the shinobi's lower leg. Kisame gave a yowl, dropping Tasha as he stumbled, and turned to see what had him. He glowered at the wolf, shaking him and tugging him until he could pry the wolf off. Tasha had gotten up was taking off full force by the time Kisame tossed the wolf aside.

"God damn wolves!" He growled, making his way after the girl despite his bleeding leg. Rogue dragged himself up, chasing after Kisame in an effort to intercept. Shaking his head, Itachi stood there. "Leave it Kisame. We'll get her next time." Kisame stopped, casting his partner a look.

"Well, if you say so Itachi-san." He looked skeptical as he watched the girl and her wolf disappear into the distance. With a wide frown, he followed after Itachi as he continued on his way to the base. He usually didn't give up that easily, which had Kisame worried.

-o.0.o.0.o.0.o-

Tasha panted, leaning against a nearby tree. She had managed to get away somehow. Now she just had to stay that way. She did not want to encounter those men again. They were not quite right in the head. Thinking of what she had experienced made her shiver. She definitely had to stay away.

"Rogue, I am afraid we may never be able to settle down." Rogue whined, nudging his head under her hand. Neither of them liked that idea, but it seemed it was what they had to resort to. A life constantly on the move was never what anyone wanted.


	3. To join a family

The Akatsuki and the Great Oroki Redux

Chapter 3

Tasha sighed. It had been an entire year since she had left her village. Her birthday was just around the corner, and she was out in the middle of a forest with only wolves for company. Being constantly on the move, and wary of every single noise was rather taxing on her nerves. She wanted to stop and have a nice meal on such a special day. But no, she had to avoid crazy Akatsuki members with suppressed issues. A girl couldn't even turn nineteen without having to worry about stalkers? Grumbling, she settled into her tree, trying to take a brief catnap before she set off again.

Kisame raised a brow as they walked. His partner was mumbling to himself, and he was pretty sure it was about the girl. She had really managed to worm her way into Itachi's mind without meaning to. He shook his head. The poor girl was probably going to be the bane of his existence, provided they could actually get her to join the group.

"Don't let her get to you too much, Itachi-san." Kisame commented, looking up at the sun. The girl had been moving almost constantly, so it was harder to find her than any of the times before. It probably didn't help that the last place she was spotted was a forest.

"I think its a bit late for that. She's probably going to be worse to get a hold of than that chick that Deidara and Tobi are forced to find." Shaking his head and balled up a fist. "We need to find her and soon."

"Well, no harm in trying." Kisame chuckled. His partner really was letting the girl get to him. He usually wasn't so worked up about much of anything really.

"If we look through enough forests, I'm sure we'll find her. Eventually." He shrugged, looking up at the trees as he walked past them. It was a lovely day at least. What he wouldn't do for a glimpse of her whereabouts right then.

Tasha had managed to doze off, Rogue and patter draped across nearby branches. She and Rogue were working together to warp the way the surrounding area looked, making them that much harder to find. At least to anyone who had no idea what they were looking for.

"I vote we just kill her, but hey, my vote doesn't really count now does it?" He stated as he continued walking. Kisame raised a brow at that.

"Yeah, Leader would NOT appreciate that Itachi-san." His partner was more agitated by the minute, even making unreasonable suggestions. He kind of liked this girl now. After a little while, Itachi paused, pointing to a tree. Kisame couldn't see a thing different about the area, no matter how he stared.

"This time, I think we're going to capture one of those damn wolves and make her come with us." So she was there? He had to take his word for it.

"Right. I am not sure how well that will work, but we can try." Kisame tried to sooth his partner. He didn't want him brashly charging into things. Rogue, who seemed to have noticed that they were near, alerted his master with a tug on her sleeve. She groggily opened an eye and sighed. What a great way to spend her birthday. Running from weirdos. She squinted in the direction Rogue was peering, and cursed under her breath. They were closer than she was comfortable with. Patter seemed to agree, her teeth bared in a silent snarl.

A kunai came soaring by, just barely missing Rogue and embedding itself into the tree beside her head. Her eyes went wide, and she was to her feet as fast as she could muster.

"This is going to get extremely old, rather quickly." Kisame watched as his partner jumped up into the trees. He sighed.

"Tell me about it." He really couldn't do anything until that bothersome wolf that was causing this was taken out. So he leaned against a nearby tree. He would know when he would be needed, but for now, he would only be in the way.

Tasha didn't even bother to wait to be engaged. Instead she scooped up her pack and immediately began to leap through the trees, her wolves at her heels. Kisame noticed the soft rustling overhead, and he followed.

"How about we just chop off her head?" Itachi grumbled as he continued chasing after her. Kisame chuckled at the words. He knew how frustrated his partner was getting, and it amused him. It was just a girl. An evasive one, but still just a girl.

It was too late when Tasha noticed the explosive tags. As they exploded, tree branches falling and scattering their leaves, Tasha nearly fell as well. She was caught, just barely, by the scruff of her collar, and she looked up at Rogue thankfully before she dropped down to the ground. Kisame stood there, grinning at her.

"Hello there little wolfling." Her face scrunched into a frown, and she ducked just in time to avoid the swing of his arm. So she was being ganged up on, again. Kunai came soaring past again, one of them catching Patter in the leg. The second one exploded behind them. For a wolf as small as she was, it had to be painful. She let out a loud snarl, gripping the kunai in her teeth and pulling it out. It made Tasha grimace, but she had other things to worry about. Namely, getting away. Dodging another blow, she scooped patter up into her arms, and turned tail. No point in trying to fight people stronger than she was. Rogue agreed, tossing a shadow at Kisame as a distraction.

They were on the run again. Kisame, even though he kind of liked the girl who was able to annoy his partner so much, was admittedly a little annoying. It took him a moment to get past the shadows.

"Stop messing around with shadows and get her!" Itachi snapped down at Kisame before chasing after the girl. Kisame glowered at his partner, before he managed to follow after him.

"You say that like I could see through the mess." He growled, watching as his partner took out and wrapped kunai in explosive tags.

Tasha paused as she heard a series of thunks. Her eyes widened as she noticed the explosive tags, before she ducked down, curling her body around Patters. Rogue used his body to shield her from the blast. As the smoke cleared, it revealed Tasha, hunkered down, with a wolf, battered and panting, leaned against her. She looked up, and grimaced. A pile of felled trees blocked her path forward. She would just have to go in another direction wouldn't she? Kisame didn't agree. He had managed to catch up, and was now looming over her. She gave a squeak, as the exhausted Rogue tried to leap up and bite him.

"What are you waiting for?" Itachi mumbled watching his partner. Kisame smacked the wolf aside, watching as it went up in smoke. Tasha swallowed as Kisame reached over, grabbing hold of her. Patter, still in her arms, clamped down on Kisame's arm. He growled, tearing the wolf away, holding it up by the neck. Tasha struggled, against Kisame's grip, trying to get away. Patter whined, clawing and attempting to bite Kisame once more. He ignored the wolfs struggles, as it was too small to do significant damage, and he turned to his partner. Blood seeped down his arm where he had been bitten, but he seemed oblivious to it.

"What am I waiting for? I didn't see you grabbing her." He muttered, looking with annoyance as the girl continued to fight him. When would she realize it was useless? Itachi rolled his eyes and looked at her.

"Just knock her out. She'll stop struggling and we can get her back to the base without her getting away." He muttered, leaning against a fallen tree. Kisame chuckled. His partner really was impatient.

"Alright. Hold your horses man." He murmured. Shifting the flailing dog under an arm, he gave the back of the girl's skull a good whack. Tasha let out a startled noise, before the world swam into black around her.

-o.0.o.0.o.0.o-

She awoke to the soft sound of voices, a painful throbbing spreading throughout her skull. What in the world just happened? Last thing she remembered was sitting down to rest in a tree. A growl, distinctly human in nature, caught her attention. The voices had grown louder.

"...Yes, you have told me already how much of a nuisance she is Itachi. I think I'm more than capable of handling her." The voice was deep, and obviously belonged to an older male. Where were the voices coming from? She sat up with a groan.

"Ah, she's up." She blinked, trying to make the room stop spinning. She could make out the basic shape of the objects around her, but she couldn't make out any details. She brought a hand up to make sure she wasn't bleeding, before she tried to take in her surroundings. She was in a dimly lit room, and she could just barely make out the shape of bodies nearby. One was closer to her than the others. Curious, she moved slowly towards the shape, trying to ignore the growing sense of foreboding. The shape cleared as she moved closer, and she realized she had seen this person before. Wasn't she the reason she was in this situation to begin with? She frowned, sitting back with a small plop. Why did she feel so lethargic? There was a deep chuckle from somewhere behind her, and she looked up into a pair of seemingly amused purple eyes. She squeaked, trying to move away unsuccessfully.

"Well, neither of these girls seems as bad as you four are making them out to be." The voice, apparently attached to the glowing eyes, spoke to the other shapes in the room. She didn't like where this was going. Another voice pipped in, annoyed and familiar.

"You say that because you didn't have to chase them, un." It murmured. The owner of the purple eyes laughed.

"If I had, this would have been done awhile ago." Oh god. Was she in the Akatsuki base? If so, she was so screwed. Suddenly, a light came on. She was blinded for a moment, before her eyes adjusted to the scene before her. She was in a bare room, the walls surrounding her were of some sort of glossy stone. There were no windows, and the only door was being guarded by the large blue brute that had knocked her out. Her eyes widened as she remembered. She had been kidnapped by that bastard and the weirdo with the red eyes. There was the blond from a year ago, his arms crossed as he glowered at the wall. Standing in front of her, was a tall, fierce looking man, adorned with piercings. His hair was a bright orange, sticking up as though he had rolled out of bed that way. This was the owner of the purple eyes. He was looking at her with an inspecting eye, and she couldn't help but feel uncomfortable.

"So, you are the little Wolfling." His gaze strayed to the other girl in the room. "And the Hatchling. You two are evasive little things aren't you?"

"Only evasive enough to actually get caught, several years later." The other girl spat before looking for the exit and squeaking as she saw Kisame. "What the hell is that?" Kisame gave her a wide toothy grin.

"He's the elusive stalker shark." Tasha murmured, earning her a laugh from the purple eyed man. He didn't seem to be offended by either of their comments.

"At least you have a sense of humor. Now, to business." His face morphed into a serious expression. "I want you two to join our organization." Tasha paled. What in the world was he talking about? There was no way she was going to just up and join a criminal organization! At that comment, Lia busted out laughing.

"Yeah, sure I'll join. In a hundred thousand years. When I'm all old and decaying like Tobi, over there." She said thrusting her chin towards Tobi, who as usual was wearing his mask over his face.

"I would rather not." Tasha said quietly. Somehow, she felt that yelling wasn't going to do a whole lot of good.

"I didn't say it was a choice." Tasha frowned. How did he think he was going to force them?

"And how exactly are you going to force us? I don't see chains tying us down, nor a gun or in this case a kunai at our throats. I'm pretty sure that your not going to be able to force anyone to do anything. Besides, the last I heard, you guys didn't force anyone to join. Everyone of you were willing to join. From the sounds and looks of things, neither one of us is willing to join. So, sounds like your screwed my man." The girl had a point. Tasha glanced at the man to see his reaction. The way he was looking at the other girl was not at all pleasant. She felt a cold shiver crawl up her spine, and she slid a few feet back.

"You do have a point. How about this?" He took off his cloak, and Tasha gulped. He was definitely in shape, piercings showing where his skin was bare. What exactly was he doing that he needed to take off his cloak?

"If you can beat me, I'll let you go. But if you lose, you have to join us. Does that sound fair to you?" She wasn't so sure how fair this was supposed to be. She sized him up, wondering how hard it would really be to beat this guy. She didn't know much about him, and he was much larger than her, but size was never really a factor in fights. Not among Shinobi. Lia raised an eyebrow.

"And how exactly is that fair?" She asks before shrugging. "And if I refuse to beat you, or join? That still didn't answer how your going to force us to join you. So technically I win by default by logic." He gave her a small smile. Walking over to her, he crouched down, crossing his arms over his knees.

"Now, now, little kitten. If you refuse, I'll just leave you here to die. At least by agreeing you have a chance." Tasha, while watching the two argue back and forth, had brought her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. She had been running for an entire year. She had spent all that effort, she didn't want it to just end here. True, she didn't really want to join the Akatsuki, but the guy also had a point. They could easily just rot down... wherever they were. Assuming they couldn't get out. As her fingers twined together in a jutsu, she noticed that the man had one eye trained on her, his lips curled in a slight, amused expression. A growl rumbled in Lia's throat.

"First off, I am not a little kitten. Secondly, I do believe I have told your little hell hounds over there that I would much rather die than join this... this... what's the word I'm looking for..." She said before shrugging. "Anyway, I do believe you get the point." Waving him away, she looked at the female next to her. "I have been at this for several years, there's things out there better than being stuck here, fearing for your life. I personally would rather be out there fearing for my life." The man simply crouched there, letting her rant, one brow arched. It was silent for a moment, before he gave a soft sigh.

"I see. What a feisty kitten you are. I guess I will leave you here to think on it then." He stood up, brushing off his pants, before he turned to look at Tasha. She gulped. She really didn't like being under his gaze. Grumbling, Lia watched.

"I wasn't done with you..." She said under her breath before listening to the rest of the conversation.

"What about you, little wolfling?" Tasha's expression twisted into one of uncertainty. It was no wonder she felt so terrible. Deprivation rooms were painful. Especially to a body used to drawing on chakra. How could he look so at ease in such a place? The others certainly seemed uncomfortable.

"I... don't think what you are doing is fair at all. And I don't understand why you want us so badly." His eyes narrowed, and she shrank away, until she realized it wasn't meant as a menacing gaze, but a thoughtful one. He didn't really know why they had been brought here? It was amazing how quiet he was, until he seemed to have come to a conclusion.

"Tell me. Do you have any family?" Tasha was immediately taken aback, a pained look to her eyes. Their gazes met, and she felt like she wanted to burst into tears. Lia had been lying down by this point, seeming bored until he spoke. Sitting up, Lia looked at him.

"You know. That's not a very fair question. Some people don't like talking about their family." He simply looked at her out of the corner of his eye.

"I hadn't asked you. You already decided not to cooperate. Unless you changed your mind." He said calmly. He knew more people listened to a calm voice than one that yelled. Grumbling, Lia stuck her tongue out at him.

"Would it get me out of this room and maybe feeling a bit more normal?" She asked, her voice going rather weak the more she spoke. Tasha wiped away a few stray tears, glowering up at him.

"I haven't had a family in a long time." The Leader nodded, as if he had expected that kind of answer. He walked over to her, where she had managed to wedge herself in a corner. He held out a hand to her.

"Do you want one?" She stared at him blankly. What exactly was he offering her? He couldn't be calling the Akatsuki a family. There had never seen any evidence of kinship, at least from what she had learned. She wasn't sure she could deal with this kind of family. He seemed to notice her apprehension.

"It's not as bad as others make it seem. And no one here is as bad as they pretend to be. Except Itachi, he's pretty terrible." She couldn't help but let out a small, choked laugh.

"Family?" Lia managed to choke out before shaking her head. Tasha was thinking the same thing. She had gone eight years without a family. She had almost forgotten what it felt like. She looked skeptical for a moment, before she finally reached up and grabbed hold of his hand. He smiled, pulling her up to her feet. For some reason, she felt so much better when she touched him. She gave a soft sigh.

"Alright. I'll become a part of this family." He reached over, rubbing her head in a strangely soothing manner.

"Welcome to the family pup. We'll get you a room and some new cloths. Then you'll get to meet the rest of your family. Just give me a moment and I'll help you out." Tasha wasn't sure if she had made such a good decision, but it was a little late to go back on that now. Besides, his attitude towards her was completely different now, almost warm. It was kind of weird. She watched him turn to look at the other girl, his hands on his hips.

"To answer your other question kitten, yes, it will get you out of this room." He had gone back to his calm, stern expression as soon as he looked at her. This man was indeed a weird person. She wondered who he was. The girl, she noticed, was crying. She was too choked up to even answer the man. Tasha couldn't blame the girl. She had only been able to hold back her tears through sheer willpower. Whatever this girl's family situation was, it was probably more heartbreaking than her own. The girl simply nodded. He went over to her, crouching down so he could gently rest a hand upon her head.

"You don't mind if I take that as a yes? The family will welcome you." He said quietly. Despite his looks, he could have a surprisingly soft expression.

"No!" She suddenly screamed out as she curled up into a ball, trying to move away from him. She seemed to be freaking out about something. Just watching the girl made her teary eyed again. He let her pull away, watching her as she curled up in her ball.

"Easy..." He murmured quietly. It seemed as though something was hurting him, as he raised a hand to his head. His face was a grimace. Her cries couldn't be giving him a headache. Tasha wasn't exactly sure what was going on. After a moment, he rested his hand on her side, his mouth forming a thin line. When he touched her, she squeaked, staring at him wide eyed.

"What are you trying to do to me?" He arched a brow, and removed his hand.

"Soothing you? Your thoughts hurt my head." He replied, bringing a hand up to rub his temples. Tasha found herself staring. Her thoughts hurt his head? Was this...? It couldn't be.

"Leader...?" She murmured. The man looked over at her, his eyes curious.

"Yes?" That settled it. This man, was the leader of the Akatsuki! He was now her leader. She somehow felt really weird, seeing him try to sooth someone.

"N-nothing." She stammered. He seemed satisfied with that, turning his pale purple gaze back on Lia. Lia shook her head, staring at him, one eye still red.

"You've done something." She said softly. He sighed.

"Why do you think I've done something?" She seemed more confused now.

"Wh...what's going on?" Lia stammered, shaking her head. The Leader reached out to touch her again, slowly, as not to startle her. She was a skittish creature, he noticed.

"Take it easy kitten. Breathe." The girl seemed confused.

"Please, where's my family?" He really hated moments like this. Tasha looked at the others in the room, who seemed very unaffected by what was going on. It was weird that they were just standing there, watching. She figured she could try to do something, and had moved forward to try, when she heard the Leader sigh, and grasp the girl's head in his hands, bringing her face up to his. He stared at her for a few moments. Though why he was doing it was a mystery. Blinking she stared at him before trying to get away, shaking.

"Wh...where's my family?" She asks again, only more like a child than an adult. Noticing that he was staring at her with his strange eyes she began becoming frightened.

"Wh...what are you doing?" She asked a bit more calm but at the same time frightened. He was getting annoyed nonetheless. Grabbing hold of her had been a way for him to calm down, but it didn't seem to be working. Sighing, he let her go and stood up. She could get through this alone. He picked up his cloak, and walked over to Tasha.

"Let's get you settled in. Everyone is waiting to meet you. At least, they should be." He cast Itachi a glance, that clearly told him he had better be there, before he made a shooing motion towards the door. Tasha gave him a worried look, looking from him, to Lia. She wasn't sure she should be left like this.

"We are just going to leave her?" She questioned. The Leader grimaced.

"I am not a miracle worker, as amazing as I am. She has to fight her own battles, even in the family." Tasha frowned, but allowed herself to be shepherded out of the room. It wasn't long before she was dressed in new threads, and led into a large living room. This seemed to be the general hub of the place, next to the kitchen. It was where all the network of hallways were connected. Like a normal house, there were individual rooms and areas for all of the members, as well as varies unoccupied areas for occasions like this. She couldn't help feeling uneasy looking around at those who sat on the various pieces of furniture. Some of them were looking at them intently, while others seemed to not care if she existed. The blond one she had encountered before was occupying a chair near the door, looking at her with a strange expression on his face. What he was conveying was beyond her comprehension. It wasn't an expression she had seen before.

"Alright everyone. Settle down. We have a new family member today." Tasha blushed as gazes trained on her. It seemed a little wrong somehow, to be introduced without the other girl around, but there wasn't anything she could really do.

"Ah... hello." She murmured, ducking her head. Leader gave her a pat on the head.

"Now, treat her proper. I have to go check on someone important. When I get back, we will be shuffling partners around." There was a collective groan, which Tasha didn't understand. She watched him as he walked off, and she stood there, looking around the room uncomfortably. Finally, a voice spoke up, and she found herself, somehow, sitting beside the blond. His name was apparently Deidara. Which sounded like a girl's name. She didn't voice it, since he didn't look too happy to have her sitting there, even though he had called her over.

-o.0.o.0.o.0.o-

The leader had gone all the way back to the room where Lia had been left to settle down. Opening the door he noticed that she was awake. In the very least, she seemed to have settled down. He walked in, closing the door behind him, then walked over to Lia.

"Feeling any better?" He questioned, looking her over. Blinking, she looked at him and tilted her head.

"Aside from feeling like I'm going to be sick and like I'm going crazy, I'm peachy." She says softly, her voice echoing in the quiet room.

"Why am I here?" Great, more questions. Leader sighed, sitting down in front of her, leaning forward and resting his head on an arm.

"Sounds unpleasant. Alright. I'll explain again. I would like you to join our family. What do you say?" He gave her a small smile.

"And we can get you out of this room."

Tasha was silently sitting beside Deidara, who was talking quite animatedly about art, and why she should appreciate it more. He was confusing, but not the worse person she could have ever sat beside. She glanced over at the man who had kidnapped her here. If she remembered correctly, his name was Itachi. She could have been sitting next to HIM. Which honestly, seemed like a terrible idea. She shivered, catching Deidara's attention. He looked at her quizzically.

"What's wrong un?" He questioned. She frowned, looking into his one uncovered blue eye, and sighed.

"I don't like him." She murmured, gesturing her head towards Itachi. Deidara laughed.

"I don't blame you, hm."

Lia blinked again and tilted her head. "Family?" She asked with a bit more strength than she had earlier, her eyes clear of any tears. Thinking for a moment she shrugged and sighed softly. "What have I got to lose? I have nothing left, so why not?" Giving a faint smile she tried moving from the wall and shivered before her stomach growled and she blushed faintly. Leader stood up, gently helping her to steady herself.

"Welcome home." He said quietly, before he guided her out to get settled. He got her food, new cloths, and then showed her to where everyone was waiting. Tasha and Deidara had begun talking about how much they hated Itachi. It was surprising how well they seemed to get along. When Leader and Lia walked in, she couldn't help but smile.

"I'm back. I hope you behaved. Meet your second new family member." Lia returned her smile. It was good that she seemed to have calmed down. Though she couldn't help but notice how she glowered at Deidara and the weird one in the mask. Deidara returned the glower with an annoyed roll of his eyes, before the Leader cleared his throat.

"If you will take a seat somewhere, I'll introduce you two to everyone." He gestured towards the many seats available, and waited for Lia to pick where she wanted to be. When he felt she was sufficiently settled, he went about giving introductions. As he spoke, Tasha made a mental note of the members faces.

"We don't have many Women here, so I'll introduce Konan first." He gestured towards a blue haired woman, who waved a dismissive hand. Shaking his head, he introduced Deidara, Kazuku, Hidan, Zetsu, Tobi and Sasori. She found herself glowering when he mentioned Kisame and Itachi's names. She almost didn't notice that he hadn't introduced himself. Almost. She was watching him curiously as he seemed to decide his name didn't matter.

"...And this is Tasha and Lia." Tasha wasn't going to ask how he knew her name.

"Um... You left someone out. What is your name?" Lia asked him in a curious tone. So she wanted to know as well. Leader glanced at the two of them, his expression an interesting mix of amusement and reluctance.

"Ah, that's right. You may refer to me as Leader." Tasha twitched. Just Leader? She knew that was what everyone called him, but surely he had a name everyone knew him by, even if they didn't say it. Than again, she had already started to refer to him as exactly that.

"Leader, why just that? Do you not want to tell us your name?" The Leader sighed at Tasha's question, rubbing his temple.

"I don't know you well enough for anything else. Now can we get on to the Partner swapping?" Startled, Tasha gave a meek nod. Shaking his head, he chose a seat for himself, crossing his arms over his legs.

"So, who would like to partner with the new kids?" Leader looked at the group expectantly. Deidara's hand shot up almost instantly. The leader arched a brow, seeming to know exactly why he had responded so fast. He looked around the room checking to see if anyone else volunteered. When no one else responded he growled. This was ridiculous.

"If no one else volunteers I'm just going to start sticking people with those they hate, just to mess with you." He gave a pointed look to Itachi, who was ignoring the entire conversation. Deidara waved his hand a few times, as though trying to catch the Leaders attention. He rolled his eyes.

"Yes Deidara, I know you want to change partners. Calm down." Deidara frowned, but put his hand back into his lap. Finally, Sasori raised a hand, as did Hidan. He immediately rejected Hidan's request, and gave Sasori an odd look, as though pondering how sane he was. He finally seemed to decide that Sasori was a horrible choice. Itachi opened his eyes and looked down at the leader.

"I didn't raise my hand because I rather like my partner." He stated nonchalantly before looking at Kisame. "We get along fairly well and respect each other." Shrugging, he closed his eyes again and relaxed. Tobi shook his head.

"But I don't hate anyone here!" He sighed.

"I don't want you to switch Itachi. I want you to pay some semblance of attention. You can breath now Kisame." Kisame made a small relieved noise. He rather liked his partner too. He wasn't sure anyone else could stand him. Itachi opened an eye and looked at him.

"Who said that I wasn't paying attention? I've heard every word come out of your mouth."

"Don't be an antagonist Itachi." The Leader muttered. Itachi rolled his eye and then closed it again.

"Tobi." The Leader trained his gaze on Tobi. "If Deidara switches, you will need a new partner as well. I really don't want to do it, but I guess you two will have to pick which..." Before The Leader even finished his sentence, Deidara had grabbed hold of Tasha's head.

"I pick this one un!" He seemed determined, despite the mortified expression that crossed Tasha's face at being grasped against the man's chest. Leader frowned, and trained his gaze on Lia.

"I'm sorry. I suppose that means you are stuck with Tobi. Unless Tasha objects." It looked as if Tasha was going to object, but went quiet when she gazed up at his pleading eyes. Lia looked horrified and annoyed at the same time as she looked back at Tobi who was waving enthusiastically at her.

"You're kidding me, right? Please tell me your kidding." She begged as she looked back at the Leader. Realizing that he wasn't kidding she sighed heavily and looked rather defeated. The Leader sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"I know. It's not the best pairing. We have to do this so you will have an experienced member to teach you. But enough about that." He stood up, stretching his arms above his head.

"For now, everyone is dismissed. Go solidify bonds and whatnot." With that the group started to disperse, wandering off into their own specific areas. Even the Leader wandered off, leaving those who were still sitting down. Deidara released Tasha's head, a triumphant grin across his face.

"I finally got rid of him,un." Tasha blinked. So Deidara didn't like Tobi. Sighing, Lia remained seated and seemed to curl up into a ball on the chair. Tobi came down and sat beside her.

"Hi Lia-chan!" Groaning, she turned away from him.

"Go away Tobi."

"Aww, come on, Tobi is a good boy!"

"In no way shape or form are you a good boy, Tobi. Now, if you don't mind, I would very much like to sulk by myself." Lia didn't seem to like Tobi either, she noticed. She kind of felt bad for the girl. If Deidara wanted to get away from him so badly, what was she going to go through?

"Hmm... Why is he still here, un?" Tasha looked over at Deidara's words, and noticed Itachi was still sitting there, seemingly oblivious to the world. His partner had long gone off to visit the kitchen.

"Hey, Deidara-san." Deidara's brow twitched and he gave her a glower.

"Just Deidara will do, hm." She looked at him quizzically, before nodding.

"Alright, Deidara. Do you have anything you don't mind me throwing?" He gave her a curious look, riffling through his cloak until he pulled out a stack of paper. Frowning, he started to search again, when she stopped him, taking the paper in hand.

"This will work. Maybe a pen as well?" He produced a pen then watched her with interest as she set the paper down beside her, and went about making a bunch of paper airplanes. Satisfied, she scribbled a series of symbols on the planes. Deidara admired her work.

"Smoke planes, hm?" He commented. She gave him a nod, a mischievous grin crossing her face before she chucked it at Itachi. It drifted lightly, before nosediving into his chest, bursting into a small cloud of smoke. Once the smoke cleared he glowered at Deidara.

"You can knock it off Deidara." He said before closing his eye again and leaned back in the chair. Deidara snickered,and Tasha covered her mouth to stifle the laugh bubbling up. This time, Tasha picked up two, and tossed them his way. They drifted like before. This time one of them hit him in the chest, and the other drifted to hit him in the stomach. They burst into a larger cloud of smoke, and the two of them were hard pressed not to burst into fits. Growling, Itachi looked over at the two before getting up and walking out of the room. Tasha pouted as he walked off, while Deidara was in tears beside her.

"Aw. Now what?" Wiping his eyes with a hand he stood, motioning to her.

"Now, we follow him." Her partner sure was a mischievous one. She liked that. Scooping up the paper and tucking it into her new cloak, she followed after Deidara as he silently stalked after Itachi. He paused around one of the corners, his hand out towards her. Confused, she placed her hand in his. He flinched, looking back at her with his eyes narrowed.

"I wanted a plane,un." He whispered. She went red, and quickly handed him one. As he turned, she noticed his cheeks tinting. She smiled to herself, and craned her body around his to watch as he tossed the airplane down the hall. It burst just as it passed Itachi, and the two of them quickly ducked back, clutching their mouths as they tried to stay quiet.

"You are teaching her bad habits. She doesn't need any more." Tasha and Deidara both frowned,. She turned to go and confront him about it, but Deidara held her back.

"Like you could teach her any better un!" He called out mockingly. Tasha raised a brow. What was he trying to do? She didn't want to see the guy riled up. Who knew what he'd do. He was suppressed after all. Itachi shrugged.

"Possibly not, but I know I wouldn't have her trying to bully people either." He stated before walking into his room.

"You'd probably molest me." Tasha muttered, her face scrunched in disdain. Deidara blinked, turning to look at her.

"What?" She blinked.

"You didn't notice? He's totally a pervert." Deidara laughed.

"That would be true. Anyway, want to give him one last push before we take a tour?" Tasha nodded, creeping over to Itachi's door with Deidara. He took out a pen, and gathered a few of Tasha's planes. He scribbled something extra on them, before he folded them into a square, and tucked them under the door. He quickly ushered her away as a small boom sounded from behind them. She gave a squeak as Deidara laughed, dragging her behind them as they fled.

"DEIDARA!" Itachi's scream echoed down the hall. Tasha burst into giggles as they rounded the corner, and ducked into a nearby room. What Deidara had done, she had no idea, but she bet it was bad. The two of them leaned against the wall, panting and laughing. When she had finally calmed down, she realized that the room was rather messy. Clay, pots and strange clay figurines. She reached out to pick one up, curious. This had to be Deidara's room. That or someone had a fetish for clay.

"That was a lot of fun. I don't think I've had that much fun in..." She had to think about it. When _was_ the last time she had ever really had fun doing something? Her family had always been a strict one, and being a kunnoichi never left much room for those kinds of things.

"Quite awhile huh, un?" Deidara questioned, a grin stretching his face. She nodded. He wandered over to his bed, and she followed, sitting on the foot while he lay out.

"Welcome to my abode. Make yourself at home yeah? Just... don't mess with my art." He reached over and gently took the clay figure out of her hands. Well, it was his room. She could respect his wishes.

"We should wait for him to cool down a bit before I take you to your room." She lay back on her elbows, her feet swinging back and forth. It wasn't as bad of a birthday as she would have thought.

"So, where is my room at anyway?" She questioned. He sighed, and gave her a sympathetic look.

"Next to that Uchiha." Okay, she took that back. Her day was pretty awful after all.

-o.0.o.0.o.0.o-

Kisame yawned, looking around the kitchen for something decent to eat. He could make a sandwich of course, but that was boring, and wouldn't last for very long. He didn't really want to cook anything either. He would have just grabbed a box of rice or something instant from the cupboard, but he was afraid of what he'd find in there. Who knew what the leader would stick in the most random of places. The kitchen always felt like a hazard zone.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't know someone else was in here." A voice said softly. Kisame looked back to see Lia, backing up into the doorway. He gave his head a tilt.

"Oh, hello. Can you cook?" He looked at her questioningly. Lia blinked and tilted her own head.

"Yes, I suppose I can. Why?" A relieved look crossed his face, and he placed a hand to his stomach.

"I was wondering if you could make a guy a meal? I'm a terrible cook." He gave her a sideways smile. Lia laughed softly and nodded her head.

"I suppose I could, but it all depends on what you would like to have." She said before walking further into the kitchen and looking around at what they had in the kitchen.

"Anything but cupboard cupcakes." He replied, leaning against the counter. Looking back at him, she raised an eyebrow.

"Cupboard cupcakes?" She asks before laughing and shaking her head. "If you say so. I've never heard of them, but hey, whatever floats your boat I suppose." He watched her search around for a moment, looking thoughtful. He hoped she would stay away from the cupboards. The last time he opened one, he nearly drowned in cupcakes. It was one of those things that the Leader liked to do. He was a weird guy sometimes.

"Maybe something with meat." He hadn't had anything really substantial since they were last at the base. And that was just before he and Itachi had gone out to try and catch Tasha, for the umpteenth time that year.

"Something with meat you say?" She asked, before walking to the freezer. Seeing steaks, ground beef and chicken in there, she tapped her chin before her stomach growled.

"How about steaks?" She questioned, looking back at him over her shoulder. His stomach rumbled in response, and he laughed.

"That sounds good to me." He gave her a toothy grin. He wondered what Deidara had been complaining so much about. This girl didn't seem all that bad. Smiling and nodding she grabbed a couple steaks out of the freezer and started letting them thaw.

"What would you like to have with it?" She asks as she looks around for a skillet to make the steaks in. As he pondered on that thought, he heard a loud yell, watching as Deidara and Tasha streaked past the kitchen. He raised a brow.

"Deidara again. I wonder what he did this time." He chuckled. Knowing him, he had gone and ruined something of Itachi's.

"Does he do things to make people yell often?" Kisame laughed.

"Nah, just to Itachi. He has a real hate affair with that guy." He reached up to where the pots and pans were stored, and handed her one.

"Sounds like things are never quite around here unless those two are gone." Kisame nodded.

"I'm fine with just the meat, but you can have anything you like with it." He walked over to the doorway to look out it, glad that Deidara and Tasha seemed to have gotten away. At least for now. Itachi had a way with revenge. It was a long cycle between those two. Rather, he should probably say three now. Tasha looked like she would be a constant nuisance to him.

"Suit yourself. I think I'll just have meat as well, since Leader fed me before going and meeting you all." Shrugging, she started cooking the steaks, making sure that she seasoned them well. "How do you like your steak?"

"Medium, if you don't mind." Usually, he would have his meat as red as it could be, but he didn't want to freak her out by asking her to simply warm his food. After a few moments she turned and looked at him.

"Kisame? Why does Leader only like to be called Leader instead of an actual name?" Kisame paused, looking thoughtful. It was a good question. He knew there were people who knew what he was called.

"Well, that's a good question. I think he has trust issues." He shrugged. He knew eventually he would tell those who didn't already know.

"He says it's because he doesn't want to risk the chance that his identity gets out. Which is kind of silly if you ask me." Itachi walked by the kitchen on his way to Deidara's room, and Kisame burst into laughter, holding onto the side of the door frame to keep from falling down.

"Ah Deidara, you did good man." He felt a little bad for his partner, but he loved a good prank when he saw it. Blinking, Lia looked towards the door and saw something pink walk by.

"Was, that... Itachi that just walked by?" Kisame wiped tears from his eyes, and nodded.

"Yes it is. Deidara up to the usual." He chuckled, walking back into the kitchen. He wanted to know what was going to happen, but he would just wait until one of them told him about it. It would be worth it.

"Just wait. I'm sure the best is yet to come."

"Oh? What do you think is going to happen?" She asked as she giggled and continued to cook dinner.

"Probably a fight. Although, Deidara might tone it down, with his new partner and all." Kisame snickered.

"That or she'll join in and we'll have to repair the hallway." He shrugged as if this was a daily thing. The faint sound of arguing could be heard over the sound of food cooking. There was definitely going to be some sort of chaos. Raising an eyebrow, Lia looked at him.

"Do you think she'll join in? I mean she did seem to join in earlier." She said before shrugging. Kisame shrugged.

"We'll see. We should be able to tell by the amount of cursing." The volume of the voices escalated, and Kisame shook his head.

"There they go." Blinking, Lia stepped away from the stove and over to the doorway where she poked her head out.

"Wow, it sounds like its getting serious. Do you think someone is going to kill someone else?" She asked. Kisame shook his head.

"Oh no. Leader would kick their asses if they tried. He can sense what they are doing at anytime." He assured her, walking over to look out the kitchen with her. It did sound pretty serious. He hoped no one got seriously injured.

"I hope no one is getting injured." She said softly before remembering that she was cooking and hurried back over to the steak just in time to take it off and put it on a plate for him.

"Sorry, it might be a little more done than I had intended." Plating the other, she grabbed knives and forks.

"It's not a problem." He took the two plates in his hands and walked out to the dining room. The sound of fighting could be heard coming down the hall. Kisame could see that Deidara's door was open. At least he could rest assured that Deidara wouldn't blow up his own room. He set the plates down and picked a seat. He was looking forward to dinner and a show. She sat down across from him and slowly began cutting into her steak as she watched the hall.

"I think Leader should break it up soon." Kisame smiled at her as he dug in. She was the worrying type wasn't she?

"Don't worry. He'll stop it if it gets bad. I know he's noticed it." He made a pleased sound as he ate. She was definitely a better cook than he was.

"I hope so." She said softly as she looks back towards the open door.

-o.0.o.0.o.0.o-

There was a loud bang at the door, and Tasha flinched, looking up from where she lay. Her cloak was off, folded into a makeshift pillow under her head. It was cooler when the two of them sat in their tank tops anyway. The ones she wore looked like she had taken it from Deidara's closet. The banging persisted, even though they were ignoring it. It seemed as though the person on the other side was trying to beat down the door. Deidara sighed, sitting up and glancing over at the door.

"We don't want any, un!" He grumbled.

"I'm going to take your damn head off." Itachi did _not_ sound happy. What exactly had Deidara done? He gave her an unworried smile, which only seemed to make her uneasy. The pounding on the door was also hurting her head.

"You're a terrible salesman, yeah." Deidara taunted, leaning on his knees. She got the feeling that he did this often. Perhaps more so than he should.

"I don't fucking give a shit, I'm going to rip your head from your body." Itachi growled and continued banging on the door. Tasha raised a brow as she sat up. It had to be bad if he was behaving so uncivilized. She stared at Deidara.

"What in the world did you do?" Deidara chuckled.

"Want to see, hm?" He stood up, and walked over to the door. Tasha watched him, apprehensively. She didn't want to end up in the middle of a fight. Not on her first day.

"You have terrible manners in front of a lady, yeah." Deidara commented, before he opened the door, backing away quickly. Tasha gasped at first, before she burst into laughter.

"Oh god, why is he PINK?" She clutched her stomach, trying to breath. Itachi had started towards Deidara, before hearing Tasha's comment. He looked down at his hands. His reaction was not good.

"You just sealed your death!" Itachi roared and launched himself at Deidara. Deidara dodged the attack, laughing.

"I did well, eh Tasha, hm?" Tasha flinched, scrambling to the other side of the messy bed. She wasn't sure what exactly she wanted to do. Should she help him out? She had sort of instigated the whole thing. It would only be fair. Groaning, she bit into her thumb and drew a summon circle on the floor beneath her. He didn't seem to notice what she was doing. She crouched down, praying silently that her wolf would hurry up.

"I'm going to kill you!" Itachi said as he continued launching himself at Deidara. Deidara rolled his eyes, diverting Itachi's attack as he laughed.

"You always do this, eh Uchiha?" Itachi had a habit of charging head first when he was upset. Deidara loved using it to his advantage. Itachi single mindedly attacked him, his hands twining in a jutsu. Deidara snickered, and swung at Itachi.

"Don't go messing up my room, yeah!" He growled. Tasha flinched, looking impatiently at the floor, then back at the fight.

"Hurry up..." She muttered. Itachi ducked away from the swing, shaking his head.

"Not your room, just you, you bastard!" Itachi growled. Tasha recognized the hand signs Itachi had formed and cursed. Great, he was going to light them on _fire._ Deidara moved, just as a black blur leapt up from behind Itachi, and barreled right into him. Tasha let out a sigh of relief, while Deidara seemed surprised.

"What in the world...?" He looked over at Tasha, who had crawled back onto the bed and was making her way over. Midnight was lying on top of Itachi, looking amused.

"Fire is bad, little Uchiha." He woofed, tail thumping the floor.

"DAMN YOU MUTT! GET OFF ME!" Itachi roared. He was clearly quite pissed off at having been interrupted. Tasha didn't care. She had avoided disaster. A fiery, unsettling disaster. She had a thing against fire. It always reminded her of bad things. Midnight put more of his weight on Itachi's back.

"That's not anyway to talk to someone." Midnight smirked. At least he seemed to be enjoying himself. Deidara laughed, crouching down looking amused.

"Well. You look good down there, yeah?" Tasha sighed.

"Don't exasperate the situation Deidara." She said quietly. He looked up at her as she swung her legs over the side of the bed, giving Midnight a thankful look.

"Get your mutt off my back." Itachi stated, glaring at Tasha, ignoring Deidara for the moment. Tasha lay her head against a propped arm. He didn't look so scary like this.

"Well, he isn't a mutt. Personally I think this is a good look for you." She said quietly. Deidara nodded in agreement, moving to sit beside her on the bed.

"I don't really like Itachi as a carpet though, un." Itachi growled.

"I don't care what he is. Get him off me." Tasha brows rose as she gave him a you-really-want-to-boss-me-around look. He did look like he was in pain. She sighed, looking to Deidara for guidance. He shrugged.

"Your call,yeah." Tasha sighed. Her partner really wasn't much help.

"You know, Midnight is autonomous. I'm not the one you should be asking." She said quietly. Midnight gave her an approvingly wolfish grin. Itachi grumbled a bit before he sighed.

"Fine, would you please get off me before my chest collapses." He said wheezing. Midnight seemed satisfied with this, and climbed off of Itachi, wedging himself on the bed between Tasha and Deidara. Deidara raised a brow, as Midnight whacked him with his tail.

"There you go." Tasha gave Itachi a nod, wrapping her arms around Midnight's neck, just in case he felt the need to pounce him again. He had been known to change his mind. Itachi gasped for air, before he got up, grumbling as he left. Tasha shook her head. Seemed her life was going to be eventful.


	4. An interesting welcome party

The Akatsuki and the Great Oroki

Chapter 4

_This chapter contains the use of alcohol. You have been warned._

"Your birthday was yesterday?" Tasha blinked, looking up from her paperwork to glance at the Leader. Yes, she had paperwork. Why the Leader felt she needed to do paperwork, she had no idea. They were sitting in the living room, and he Leader had been helping her get started, when he seemed to have an idea. The others were lounging about, or doing their own paperwork.

"Hey, everyone! Let's have a party." Tasha frowned. She was never very good at parties. Deidara, who seemed to not have any paperwork, looked up from where he was lying on the couch beside her.

"A party, hm? We haven't had one of those in quite awhile, yeah." The Leader nodded.

"Anyone have any suggestions?" Kisame yawned. He was just finishing up his own paperwork.

"Well, why don't we just do what we usually do? Get drunk and play games."

"What kind of games?" Kisame had almost forgotten that Lia had sat down beside him to do paperwork, until he heard her voice. He looked down at her with a nod.

"Well, cards mostly. Maybe darts and things. We try not to have anything someone could turn into a weapon. Especially when they are drunk." He explained. Lia seemed to get along better with him Than she did with her partner. In fact, he hadn't seen her try and interact with him at all. Blinking, Lia tilted her head.

"Oh dear. If that's the case, I'm not sure I want to know how you all act when your all drunk." She stated.

"I see. Well, I'd be alright with that, Leader." The Leader nodded at Tasha's words.

"Alright. Enough paperwork then. Let's set up." Kisame gave a small groan, which was echoed by many in the room. Yet he and several others stood up anyway, and started to move things about. Deidara went into the kitchen to grab what they would need. Tasha raised a brow. She hadn't expected to have the party immediately. She still had paperwork to finish! She frowned when the Leader took her paperwork, and set it off to the side.

"Go help Deidara." Tasha sighed. The Leader sure was bossy. She stood up, and went off in search of her partner.

"Um... What do you want me to do?" The Leader looked over at Lia as she spoke. That was a good question. The guys were already moving all of the heavy furniture, and Tasha and Deidara were in the kitchen. He did notice that he hadn't seen Itachi, Sasori or Tobi since yesterday. Unless they were under a table or something.

"Would you go and fetch the guys who aren't here? Or at least coax them from under wherever they are?" He asked. "I think they could use an excuse to drink."

"Under something?" She asked before looking around the room. The Leader nodded.

"Sometimes Tobi likes to hide under furniture. I don't really know why." He shrugged. "If you need any help finding one of them, ask around. Someone is bound to rat them out." Lia smiled and nodded to him before walking away.

-o.0.o.0.o.0.o-

Tasha found Deidara, who was leaning against the counter, holding his head. On the floor in front of him was a pile of cupcakes. Tasha was confused. Where in the world had these come from?

"Deidara... What in the world? Deidara flinched, looking back at her.

"The cupboard cupcakes strike again un." Cupboard cupcakes? She looked down at the pastries. Who would put cupcakes in that kind of place? She walked over to the pile, and started to pick them up. Deidara watched her for a few moments, before he bent down to help. There were a _lot _of cupcakes. How did these all fit?

"Please tell me we don't have to put these back in the cupboard." Tasha questioned, once they had assembled all of the cupcakes on the island counter top. Deidara chuckled.

"No, that would be way too much trouble, yeah." Then what were they supposed to do with all this cake? She looked thoughtful for a moment, before she noticed Deidara throwing them away. She gasped.

"Isn't that a waste?" Deidara shook his head. Well, she guessed that made sense. They had to have a lot of these just laying around.

"Wow that's a lot of cupcakes. I'm guessing those are the elusive cupboard cupcakes, Kisame mentioned yesterday?" Lia asked before looking around the kitchen, seeming to look for something. Tasha and Deidara jumped at the sound of her voice, as if they had been doing something bad.

"Hah. You scared me." Tasha sighed, holding a hand to her chest. Deidara chuckled, tossing more cupcakes out. Laughing softly, Lia shook her head.

"I do apologize, didn't mean to scare you."

"Yes, these are the cupboard cupcakes." He paused, noticing that she looked as though she were searching for something. "Did you need something, un?" He questioned. Tasha, having calmed down, started to help Deidara. Blinking, Lia looked at Deidara for a moment.

"Oh, yeah, sorry. I'm searching for my good for nothing partner Tobi as well as Sasori and Itachi. Have either of you seen either of them?" She asked softly before noticing that they were throwing away the cupcakes. "Would you guys like some help with that?" Deidara frowned at the mention of Tobi and Itachi, and Tasha couldn't help but mimic his expression. They glanced at one another, before Deidara shook his head.

"I don't really keep track of them, but you could try their rooms." He let Tasha continue to toss out cupcakes, while Deidara walked over to the doorway.

"In that hallway you will find Itachi's room. It's all gloomy, you can't miss it. That way is Sasori-danna's room. There should be wood lying around. Tobi... well, look for the bright pink door over there. Though he might be outside,yeah." He gestured in the general direction of the rooms, then rested a hand on his hip. Lia blinked and followed him to the doorway watching him point in the general directions of the bedrooms of the three guys that weren't in the living room earlier.

"Good luck. We can finish up here on our own. There isn't... that many cupcakes, yeah." As he said that his face looked worried, as if he didn't believe his own words. He gave Lia a pat on the back, before he went back to throwing out cupcakes. Frowning, she felt him pat her back before waving to him.

"Thanks for the information. I'll see you guys later." Deidara and Tasha waved, then went back to their work. When they finally finished throwing out the cupcakes the two of them gave a collective sigh.

"Alright, yeah. We need to grab the supplies for the party." Deidara went into the fridge and started pulling out party foods. Tasha found it odd that they kept such things in their fridge, if they didn't have parties often. He handed her some of them, then went into the cupboard where the cupcakes had fallen out, to grab chips. That explained why he had been showered with cupcakes. She started taking things out to the living room, where the others had finished moving furniture, and had pushed several tables together. She set the supplies on top, then went back for more. Soon, the two had finished their job. Tasha flopped down in a chair, looking around as others came in with speakers, cards, folding chairs, a card table, and a box of pointy looking objects. Deidara flopped down across the armrests of her chair, and Tasha squirmed.

"Deidara! This chair isn't big enough for both of us." Deidara rolled his eyes, twisting until he sat sideways in her lap. She frowned before she gave in, letting him settle down. The leader noticed this, and walked over, giving them a look of confusion.

"Deidara, what in the world are you doing?" Deidara looked up at the Leader from his half curled position.

"I'm testing out this new chair, un." The Leader sighed, grabbing hold of Deidara and pulling him off onto the floor.

"Ouch..." Deidara rubbed his arm, pouting at the Leader.

"She isn't a chair." Tasha sat still during this, watching the two with pursed lips. She wasn't going to interfere, but it seemed silly to pull him off when she had let him do it.

-o.0.o.0.o.0.o-

Sasori blinked, looking up as a knock echoed gently above the sound of him sanding. He got up and opened the door. He looked up at the girl who stood in his doorway.

"Yes?" He said quietly, his face a mask of calm."

Are you Sasori-danna?" She asks softly, looking him over for a moment before smiling. "If so, Leader is looking for you. We're having a party and would like for you to join in." Sasori stood there quietly for a few moments, before he nodded.

"A party? I suppose I could go to it." He moved past Lia, closing his door behind him. He didn't say anything as he made his way down the hall, towards the living room.

-o.0.o.0.o.0.o-

Deidara had managed to climb back onto Tasha's lap while the Leader wasn't looking. Lia walked in, looking irritated.

"Everyone has been found." She said to the Leader, before walking away and flopping down on a chair. The leader looked around, and indeed, everyone had been found. He cleared his throat, and everyone looked at him. Everyone who was paying attention anyway.

"Alright. Have fun guys." He declared, before he grabbed a beer, and joined a card game that Kisame had started with Hidan, and Sasori. Kazuku was playing darts. Zetsu and Konan were doing something in one of the corners. Deidara crawled off and walked over to turn on some music, before he grabbed himself a beer and offered one to Tasha. She looked around, unsure if she wanted to drink alcohol around people she barely knew.

"If you don't want to drink, we can play a game, yeah. But we'd have to find other players." That sounded like a good idea, but the only people she really noticed not doing anything, were Tobi, Lia, and Itachi. She wasn't sure how she felt about trying to play a game with two people she was unsure of, and one she outright hated. Giving in, she took the beer, before she looked up at Deidara curiously.

"Is this legal?" Deidara paused, as though her question confused him.

"Just drink it, un." He had popped his open, and was already taking a swig. Frowning, Tasha looked around the room. Lia was in her own little area, feeding herself. Itachi, she grimaced at the thought of him, had a beer, and was relaxed in a chair by himself. Tobi had gone over to try and join the card game.

"Mind if I join?" Tobi said, holding his plate of food. The Leader looked up at him, arched a brow and shooed him away.

"No, you always make the cards all sticky." Tasha laughed in amusement at his rejection, before she flinched, as Deidara pulled a table over to where they sat, and put his beer down. He had a bowl of snacks, which he placed between them, and a pack of cards.

"Though we could just play go fish, hm." They started playing, and were deeply involved in the game. Deidara quickly became frustrated at how easily Tasha seemed to be winning. Especially since he had turned it into a drinking game. Tasha's beer was hardly touched, while Deidara's was almost gone.

Lia had wandered into the kitchen for a drink, and when she came out, she was greeted by Kisame. He had lost a round of cards, and had gotten up to throw away his bottle. He raised a brow at what she was drinking, before he shook his head.

"Kiddo, why are you drinking water? You know what you need?" He put his arm around her shoulder. He was rather social when he drank. " You need to come and play cards with us." Lia raised an eyebrow back at him. "

I'm drinking water because I don't want to drink beer and I'm being responsible. As far as playing cards, why would I do that?" She asked as she looked up at him with her own odd expression. Kisame sighed, as though she were ruining the mood.

"Responsibility is for missions. It's fine to be irresponsible around your family." He ruffled her hair.

"Besides, you look lonely. Come play with us, and wipe that slate clean." He threw his bottle away, and motioned for her to follow him as he grabbed another beer, looking back at her expectantly.

"Alright. You have to be cheating somehow, un." Tasha raised a brow at Deidara.

"It's go fish." He frowned, looking down at his second bottle, half empty. He then looked at her bottle, which was a little emptier than before, but not by much.

"I'm going to have to call in reinforcements at this rate, yeah." He mumbled as he dealt more cards. She didn't really like the idea of reinforcements. Who would he pick other than Tobi, or Lia? She was pretty sure he wouldn't ask Itachi over. At least, she hoped not.

Lia sighed softly and followed after Kisame. When he grabbed another and looked back at her expectantly, she raised a brow.

"What? I told you, I don't want to drink." She said. "Besides, I have water that I am perfectly fine with drinking." Holding up the glass of water before taking a drink. "At least you're getting me to play cards with you. That's a step towards what you're wanting me to do, is it not?" Kisame sighed dejectedly.

"Fine, fine. You can stay sober for a little while." He walked over to the card table, making room for Lia to sit down and join the game.

"Ever play 500 Rummy?" He questioned, as he picked up the cards to deal. The Leader raised a brow at her when he saw she was drinking water as well. Lia shook her head.

"No, I've never even heard of it." She said before looking at Leader. "What? Am I not allowed to drink water now when I want to?" She stuck her tongue out at him and paid attention to what Kisame said next as far as the game went. Kisame proceeded to explain the rules of the game, then pat the seat next to him.

"It's easy. You'll do fine." He reassured her as he dealt everyone their cards. "Plus, I'll help you if you get stuck." Lia smiled and nodded her head as she sat down in the seat next to him and picked up the cards. Taking a sip of her water, she looked at everyone that was playing. As people looked at their cards, there was a groan, and a chuckle. The Leader looked at his cards with a perfectly straight face, and began matching cards in his hand. Kisame matched a few as well, set them down on the table, and watched as Hidan started the round by drawing a card.

Deidara groaned. What was this, his third beer? He was no lightweight, so the amount didn't phase him. He was just a terribly sore looser.

"Okay, I need reinforcements. I can't even get you to finish ONE bottle, yeah." Tasha laughed as Deidara complained. He was over exaggerating the situation just a bit. She suspected he was actually really terrible at go fish. He began to look around, as if trying to find someone to play with. A resigned look crossed his face, as he sighed.

"Itachi! Let's call a truce. Come help me beat this girl please, hm?" Tasha blanched. Seriously? He was calling Itachi over? Well, she saw that Lia was now occupied, and Tobi was... sticky. Raising an eyebrow, Itachi looked at Deidara for a moment before shrugging. It was better than doing nothing.

"Yeah, I guess I can give it up for the night and play with you." Tasha made a face at Itachi's words. Not only did they sound terribly like innuendo, it also meant he was going to join their game.

"Fuck." She muttered to herself. Deidara, who had heard her, laughed.

"I wonder how well you'll do now,hm?" She frowned at him, and finished her beer. She was going to need some kind of courage for this. Deidara grabbed her another beer and pulled up a seat for Itachi. Itachi came over with a new beer in hand.

"What are we playing?" Deidara looked up as he shuffled the cards.

"We were playing go fish, since it's hard to do anything too complicated with two people. We can change the game if you want, yeah?" Tasha shifted nervously, trying to calm her stomach. She was already feeling unsettled by the whole ordeal. Itachi sat down, taking a swig of his beer.

"Doesn't much matter to me really. Still kind of limited on what we could play with only 3 players." Deidara nodded and dealt the cards. He spread the rest of the deck out in a line. Tasha picked up her cards, eying Deidara hatefully as he started matching up his cards. Itachi picked up his cards and looked them over before starting to match up his cards. After a moment, Deidara looked over at Tasha. He smiled in response to her frown.

"Got any 3's?" Tasha shook her head. Deidara grumbled as he pulled a card from the pile. Tasha finally decided to match up her own cards, gave a sigh, and looked over at Itachi.

"Do you have any 7's?" Hearing Tasha, he looked more carefully at his cards. He shook his head before taking another swig of his beer and then looked at Deidara.

"Do you have any 2's?" Deidara sighed, and handed him a 2. He looked over at Tasha, who groaned. Why was he targeting her?

"Do you have any 6's?" She handed him a 6 and took a gulp of her beer. She pondered her cards for a moment, then looked at Deidara.

"Do you have any 8's?" He shook his head, and Tasha took another swallow. God, by the end of this she was going to have a terrible headache.

Hidan cursed, tucking the card into his hand and discarding a card. Sasori drew from the deck, matched up a pair, then discarded a card. The Leader drew, gave a little frown, and discarded a card. Kisame looked over at Lia to make sure she understood the rules of the game, then let her have her turn. She smiled at him before grabbing a card and wrinkled her nose. She then discarded a 2 and looked at Kisame.

"I think I understand it. Just give me a few rounds and then I should have it down no problem." She stated before taking a drink of her water. Kisame smiled, took a drink of his beer, and drew a card. He looked at them intently, before he discarded a king. Hidan went through the same pattern of cursing as before. He seemed to be having terrible luck, as he discarded a 2. Sasori discarded a three and Pein made a pair.

-o.0.o.0.o.0.o-

The game seemed to drag on, with everyone quietly drinking and matching cards. Finally, Lia stood up.

"Well looks like I need more water. Anyone want or need something while I'm up?" The leader looked up at her, and sighed once he noticed that she was still holding her water glass.

"Loosen up hatchling. Why not drink at least one beer during this game?" He questioned, looking as though he was pondering how much alcohol she could take. Kisame chuckled and nodded his agreement.

"Come on. Just one." He pleaded.

"And why do you want to me to drink so badly? I am loosened up, I've come to play cards with you guys, have I not?" She questioned before shrugging and looking at them all. "But that didn't answer my question. Do any of you want or need anything while I'm getting something to drink?"

"Fine. Just a beer then." Kisame frowned, looking back at his cards. The Leader on the other hand, continued to look at her curiously.

"Hm, yes. I need you to get yourself a beer. You aren't loosened up enough until you are giggling like the rest of us." He gave her a half smirk. "Oh, and another beer for me." Frowning, she sighed and went to get the beers. Looking at one of them she sighed and took one for herself before walking back over to the table.

"Happy?" She asked grumpily before she handed them their beers and sat down. Looking at hers with a sour expression, she took a swig and wrinkled her nose. Kisame and the Leader laughed at her expression, and gently taped their bottles to hers.

"You're officially a family member now. Congratulations." The Leader chuckled before he took his turn. He only had a few cards left, and seemed tied with Sasori.

"You'll get used to it." Kisame commented as he took a swig of his new beer. He hardly seemed affected, given how many he had drank. Lia wrinkled her nose and stuck her tongue out at the two of them.

"If you say so." She said before trying another sip of it and wrinkling her nose again. "I seriously don't know what the big deal is about drinking this crap, its horrible." Kisame laughed heartily at that.

"Yes, it is rather terrible. It's the effects that are nice. If you want something that actually tastes any good, you'll have to raid the Leaders cabinet." The Leader looked over as Kisame spoke, and he shook his head.

"Oh no. You aren't touching my things." Lia frowns and sticks her tongue out.

"You're the one that wanted me to try it. I tried it and its horrible. Why can't I try something else?" Kisame watched her as she wrinkled her nose and discarded a 3. The leader sighed, rubbing his head.

"Fine. Do you want something strong, or just have something that tastes good?" He questioned. Kisame laughed.

"Strong. Definitely strong." He glowered at Kisame.

"Not you. I was asking the kitten here." Lia laughed softly at the two before she gave them a thoughtful look.

"I don't know, I suppose surprise me?" She said, before she turned pale. She probably regretted saying that. No doubt, the Leaders amused laugh didn't help. He stood up, stretching before he set down his cards.

"Alright. Give me a moment and you'll get your surprise." With that, he walked off to search his cabinet. He came back with a bottle of juice, two bottles of alcohol and ice. He mixed the ingredients together, poured it over some of the ice, and placed the cup of red liquid in front of Lia.

"Here, have a redhead." Kisame raised a brow, and looked at the cup longingly. Blinking, Lia looked at the cup of red liquid and tilted her head.

"A redhead?" She questioned before she gave the cup a sniff, almost as if it were going to bite her if she got too close to it. Taking a deep breath, she picked up the glass and then took a sip. A smile stretched her features. "Hey, this is actually pretty good. Thank you!" She said as she picked her cards up and looked at what everyone else had put on the table.

"Good. Let me know if you want anymore." Leader smiled, before he turned a warning gaze at Kisame. Kisame pouted, and went back to looking at his cards. The Leader sat back down and the game continued. Kisame continued to eye the drink Lia had, before he seemed to decide he wanted his beer more.

-o.0.o.0.o.0.o-

Tasha was facing her own dilemma. She had downed a few too many beers. She had never expected Itachi to have such devil's luck with card games. The world was starting to blur around the edges, and her reasoning seemed to be confused. Itachi got up to get himself another beer. He had taken off his cloak, like many of the Akatsuki.

"Either of you want something while I'm up?" He asked as he stretched, the mesh shirt he wore rose with the movements of his arms. Tasha found her gaze straying to the bare skin, before she forced her gaze over to Deidara. He was smirking at her, as though he had noticed the brief appraising look she had cast Itachi. She frowned at him. He just laughed.

"Yeah, can you bring a few more beers for the two of us? Tasha is really going through them, hm." She wasn't sure how she felt about more beer, but she looked up at Itachi and nodded her consent. Itachi nodded before he went and grabbed them all a few beers. Walking back over, he handed them their drinks before he sat down. Tasha looked at her beers as though they were poisoned, and yet miraculous elixirs of joy. Deidara dealt the next round of cards, and Tasha picked up her hand. The cards were a bit hard to see now, but she managed to make some matches before she looked over at Itachi.

"Tasha. Hello?" Tasha blinked, looking back over at Deidara. She went red when she realized he had asked her something. She pretended to look over her cards, before she sighed.

"I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" Deidara laughed as he repeated his question. She shook her head, and he drew a card. She frowned at her hands, and tightened her grip on her cards. She was getting too comfortable around Itachi. She had definitely had way too many beers. She hadn't even realized he had been looking back at her with a smug look on his face. Grumbling, she tried to decide what card she wanted. Itachi laughed and shook his head.

"Had a bit too much to drink?" She looked at him with a slight turn of her head. She didn't want to look directly at him, in case she started to act weird again. That only seemed to make him laugh at her more.

"What makes you think that?" She muttered. At least she wasn't slurring her words. She was mortified enough as it was. Deidara seemed highly amused by that, reaching over and ruffling her hair. She gave him a swat, to which he faked hurt. She rolled her eyes.

"Have any 7's?" She asked Itachi. He shook his head, seeming amused.

"You have had too many to drink." He teased, looking back at her. "Have any 9's?" She handed him a card, before she took a swig of her beer. She did think she had too many, but she didn't like that he was telling her this. "Oh and what makes me think that, is that you seem to not stand me and here you are, staring at me every chance you get." Tasha wished she hadn't taken that gulp of beer. She choked when he spoke, and she set the beer down, coughing. Deidara gave her a worried look.

"Easy,un." He soothed. He had set down his cards to reach over and pat her back. Before he could touch her though, she had pushed back her chair. He paused as she stood up, her face a deep shade of red.

"I... think I need a break." She murmured, before she fled to the kitchen. Deidara watched her in confusion, then raised a brow at Itachi. Itachi shrugged and got up.

"I'll go check on her to make sure she's okay." He said as he put his cards down and followed after her into the kitchen. She had stopped beside the central island, resting her head against the cool counter tops. Her arms were wrapped around her head. She looked as though she were out of breath.

"Hey, are you all right?" Tasha visibly flinched at the sound of his voice. She warily looked over at him, her face still tinted a soft red.

"About as alright as I can be." She murmured. Itachi nodded and went to get a paper towel and dampened it with cold water.

"Here, put this on your head. It might help." He said softly before getting her a glass of water as well. "And drink this. Your probably just dehydrated." She gave him a confused look as he tended to her. Not only was it not expected, it was actually rather nice. She took the offered aid, downing the water. She hadn't realized how thirsty she felt until there was actually some water inside her. She set the glass down and groaned, flattening her upper body against the counter.

"Thank you." She mumbled, trying to cool her heated body down. Having Itachi around didn't seem to help her at all. She found her heart was beating harder then normal. Though she wasn't sure if it was his fault or if she just needed a nap. Itachi smiled at her. Smiled. She found herself watching his movements as he refilled her glass of water and putting a damp paper towel on the back of her neck.

"Just stay there and relax for a moment." His voice was soft. She watched him even as he walked away and grabbing an ibuprofen.

"Here, take this, it'll help keep a headache away." She took the pills offered happily, popped a few, and finished her glass of water. She was feeling a lot better now. Perhaps too much so, if her insides felt so warm just looking at him.

"So warm..." She complained. Despite the cool paper towel and the cold counter, she still felt hot. She pulled the paper towel off, and stood up properly. She looked down at her shirt, which she had put over her tank top and mesh underclothes. She frowned at it, then proceeded to pull it off. Deidara chose a terrible time to check on them.

"Whoa... uh... I... I think I'm not needed, yeah." Tasha looked over at Deidara, pausing with her shirt partially over her head. Itachi looked at Deidara and frowned. He didn't seem to phased by her taking off her cloths.

"I told you that I would make sure she's okay. She apparently got hot." He said before taking the glass and getting more water, adding a bit of ice this time and handed it to her. Tasha looked at the cup blankly for a moment, then finished taking off her shirt and gratefully swallowing it. Her stomach felt cool, but the rest of her body still felt uncomfortable. She frowned, wondering if she would feel cooler if she took more off. Deidara raised a brow, crossing his arms.

"I was worried, un. I forgot what a mother hen you are intoxicated." He shook his head, gave Tasha an appreciative look, before he walked out of the kitchen. Tasha watched him go, before she gave Itachi a confused look.

"What was with him?" She questioned. Itachi laughed and shook his head.

"Don't worry about it." He said as he took the glass and put more water in it and setting it on the counter. "Feeling any better?" He asked as he looked her over. Tasha scrunched her face, running her hand against her bare arms. She felt a little bit better, but not by much.

"A little bit. It's too hot in here though." She murmured, looking down at her tank top. She really wanted to take it off. Though, her pants covered more then her tank top. It sounded like a good idea to her alcohol soaked brain. She took a sip of the water, then proceeded to take off her pants. Itachi blinked and raised an eyebrow at her.

"What are you doing? If you're wanting to strip, maybe you should do so in your room, because I don't think that you want me to see you stripping, no matter how hot it is." Tasha paused, her pants just below her hips. The edge of her mesh shirt draped over her undergarments. She looked over at Itachi, confused.

"What am I doing? I'm cooling down... how did you get in...?" She looked around the room for a moment. "Wait, this isn't my room is it? Where...?" She frowned, still standing there with her pants partially down. Her brain seemed to be processing the situation, or at least trying to. When she finally seemed to realize what he was saying she gave him a wide eyed look, as though she couldn't believe what he had just said. Her face went scarlet.

"Why are you staring at me?" Itachi raised an eyebrow at her.

"I'm not the one stripping now am I? When someone starts stripping in front of you, what do you normally do? You stare at them. And its quite a nice view if I do say so myself. But, if you don't want me staring at you, why don't you pull your pants back up and go to your room to remove your clothing. Or you can come with me and continue our card game with Deidara." Tasha gave a squeak of astonishment. It seemed impossible that she could have gone redder. She pulled up her pants grabbed her shirt, and darted out of the kitchen at full speed. Deidara looked up as she paused at the table, panting.

"Are... you alright un?" When she shook her head, he gave her a worried look. She looked unsettled for some reason.

"I think... I should head to bed." She murmured. Deidara pouted slightly.

"That bad, hm?" She nodded furiously. Sighing, Itachi shook his head, grabbed the glass of water, drinking it before putting it into the sink. Walking out, he watched her at the card table talking to Deidara. He walked over and took a seat.

"So, are we going to continue, or are you going to head to your room?" He questioned Tasha as he picked up his cards again. Deidara turned to look at Itachi when he noticed Tasha's face redden.

"Why do you sound so disappointed, hm?" He questioned. Itachi raised an eyebrow, and avoided the question. Tasha shook her head, leaning against the table for stability.

"I think I will go to my room. Just..." She looked embarrassed. "I don't quite remember where that is." Itachi smiled at her, and put his cards down.

"I'll take you to your room then, if that's all right." He said, giving Deidara a warning glance before getting up and offering a hand to Tasha. "I'll probably call it a night myself, feeling rather tired." Tasha looked at Itachi skeptically. She wasn't sure how much she trusted the look he was giving her. Still, he knew where her room was, and that was a good thing.

"Well... I guess." Before she could take Itachi's hand, Deidara stopped her, grabbing hold of her half outstretched hand.

"Whoa. Whoa. What are you plotting,hm?" Deidara gave Itachi a suspicious look, not noticing that Tasha was looking down at his hand, clasped firmly to her own. Itachi arched a brow before rolling his eyes.

"Not everything I do leads to something else. I am trying to be nice and show her to her room, which by the way, the last time I checked was right beside mine. And I didn't see you offering to take her. So, being nice, I was taking her to her room. I was going to be calling it a night soon anyway. Besides, it looks like the party is disbanding." Deidara gave Itachi a disbelieving look.

"Why do I not believe you?" He muttered, looking over at Tasha. He seemed to realize he was holding her hand, and let it go like it was on fire. Tasha giggled at that.

"It's okay Deidara. It's just to my room. It should be alright." She reassured him. He frowned, before he seemed to give in.

"Fine, un. I need to start cleaning this up anyway." He commented, noticing that Kisame and the others were picking up their messes. Itachi smirked and looked at Tasha.

"Ready to go?" He asked, offering her his hand again. She took it, although reluctantly.

"I suppose."

"After I take her to her room, I'll be back to help clean up this mess." He told Deidara before walking off with Tasha. Deidara snorted and rolled his eyes, as though he didn't believe him. Tasha allowed herself to be led, even though she felt uncomfortable with him holding onto her. She felt like something was wrong with the situation, but her tired brain couldn't seem to comprehend it. They arrived at her room without any complications. Itachi even opened her door for her, standing off to the side.

"Here you are, safely to your room." He said with a bow and a smile on his face. "I enjoyed myself tonight with you, but now I must bid you a good night. I must go help clean up the mess from the party and let you have your rest. If you should need me in the morning, I'm right next door." He said pointing to the door to the left before bowing again and walking back towards the way they had came. Tasha stood there, perplexed. Her skin felt like something was crawling along it. It wasn't at all comfortable. Shivering from how wrong the situation felt, she went into her room to take a nap. She was going to hate the morning.

-o.0.o.0.o.0.o-

Lia smiled and bounced in her seat. She had continued to play the game, even though she knew she was loosing. It probably didn't help that the Leader continued to shove alcohol down her throat.

"Maannh where did you ever find a drink sush as thiss?" She asked as her words began to slur together and she giggled at herself. "I sound so funny." The Leader laughed. He was starting to feel the effects of the alcohol he had downed, and was much more relaxed in his demeanor. He even gave Kisame a drink. Kisame was babying the alcohol like a baby, seeming content, even though he was loosing as well.

"Well. It's a popular drink. I'm not surprised a kitten like you has never had it." He gave her a wolfish grin. Hidan and Sasori were in their own little worlds, not even bothering to interact with the three more then the game required.

"Was you say?" She slurred her words further as she drank more. She gave a laugh, hiccuping. "This ish so mush fun!" She said further before fanning herself and looking at the Leader rather closely. "You know sumfin, you're rather handsome." She pointed at him, almost poking him in the nose. "And he's a fish!" Laughing she pointed at Kisame. The Leader raised a brow, watching as she giggled and ranted. He shook his head, reached over and took her alcohol away.

"Alright, you've had too much." He declared. Kisame was laughing in amusement. He didn't mind being called a fish.

"Bu...but I wasn't finished with that!" She says pouting before tilting her head and smiling. "I luff you manh!"

"She's an interesting drunk, I'll say that." Kisame commented, leaning against an arm as he gazed at her.

Laughing she shook her head and looked at Kisame.

"Is luff even a word? Luff..." Giggling she shrugs. "I like it, I think it should be!" She declares and jumps up before wobbling on her feet and falling back down in the chair seemed to get overheated, fanning herself with her cards.

"Is it just me or is it getting really hot in here?" She removed her mesh shirt that was over her tank top with fumbling fingers. Kisame seemed enthralled, having dropped his cards to watch Lia as she undressed. Hidan started spouting nonsense about sinning, while Sasori did absolutely nothing. As usual. The Leader sighed. While he enjoyed the interesting show, he wasn't going to let members of his group to embarrass themselves in such a way. He stood up, took her mesh shirt and grabbed her hands.

"Alright kitten. I think it's time for you to go to bed. Say good night to and everyone else." Lia frowned and tugged on her hands.

"But I wasn't done playing this lovely card game and enjoying the party." She said. "All I did was remove one shirt. It wasn't like I'm showing anything off." Frowning, she tugged harder. "Let me go!" Tugging as hard as she could she looked back at Kisame. "Good night Mr. Fishy and everyone else." Smiling she followed Leader. "You're a party pooper. But I still luff you, so its ok." The Leader looked at her while she struggled, then suddenly seemed as though she wanted to go with him. He shook his head with a sigh. Kisame waved goodbye to Lia, and watched as Leader dragged her off in the direction of her room.

"Alcohol is probably a bad idea for you." He said more to himself Than to her. Lia blinked and looked at him with a tilt of her head.

"Aww, why is alcohol bad idea for me?" She asked as she started struggling against his grip again."Why do you have to be such a party pooper? I was having fun like you wanted me to." She said with a pout. The Leader looked down at Lia as she put up a fuss, looking like a kitten who wanted to cause mischief. He groaned, rubbing his temple as he waited for her to calm down.

"Well kitten, there are reasons. I'll explain tomorrow, when you wake up with a terrible headache." He muttered. After a moment, he seemed to become annoyed at her constantly changing her mind. He scooped her up into his arms to make his job easier. Lia squeaked and squirmed in his arms.

"Put me down! I can very well walk on my own, thank you very much!" She said as she struggled, her face tinting red. "If this has something to do with me taking my shirt off, your a prude, I wasn't even showing anything." She states before sticking her tongue out at him. The Leader raised a brow at her as he continued walking. Her struggles didn't bother him in the least.

"Taking your shirt off is a gateway to trouble. So what if I'm a prude?" He questioned, giving her a smirk. It wasn't long before he got to her door.

"Now, are you going to be a good girl and stay in your room, or do I have to tie you up?" He looked as though he favored tying her up. Probably a little too much. Lia raised an eyebrow.

"What makes you think that I would just stay in my room when I was perfectly fine out there having fun? How does my taking one shirt off lead to trouble? I was getting hot, so I decided to take it off to stay cool. Is that such a bad thing?" She questioned before noticing that they were at her room already and frowns. "I won't stay in there, even if you try tying me up." The Leader sighed as Lia continued to rant. Hefting her over his shoulder, he started walking again, this time in a new direction.

"Fine, Than I'll just tie you up in my room." He commented. He was getting tired of her fussing, and keeping her in a place he knew she couldn't get into trouble seemed like the best course of action. She squeaked and started banging on his back with her fists.

"HEY! I said PUT ME DOWN!" She yelled and squirmed against him. "Why are you doing this to me?" The beating only made him laugh.

"Nope. We are on an adventure child." He continued on his way, even humming as he went. Lia frowned and squirmed more.

"I AM NOT A CHILD!" She yelled as she continued beating on his back. "PUT ME DOWN!" Panting, she eventually went limp. She seemed to have run out of steam and just let him do what he wanted. Soon he stopped at a door, which seemed way out of the way compared to the other rooms. He opened the door, walked in and closed the door behind him. He locked it, then, still carrying her, he searched his dresser. The room they were in was large, with a desk at one end, and a few armchairs scattered about. There was a low table, upon which sat a few books and piles of paperwork. On the far end of the room was a bed. It was quite large for only one person, with red sheets and black pillows. The carpet, soft and thick underfoot, was a pale cream color. It had a comforting feel to it, with dim, but pleasant lighting. "

Wow, nice room you have here." She said softly, enjoying the feeling it gave her, very comforting and dim lighting which didn't hurt her head. He chuckled, finally finding the rope he wanted. Why he had rope in his dresser was debatable. He walked over to one of his chairs and set her down.

"Now, are you going to behave, or do I have to use this?" He held up the rope, his expression mischievous. Lia blinked up at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Are you serious? You ruined my fun, what makes you think that I would behave in any way shape or form for you?" Frowning, she shook her head. "You know, this would have been so much easier had you just let me continue having fun, but no you had to be a party pooper and ruin my fun. And now your going to try and tie me up? Think again." The Leader shook his head, seeming amused.

"Alright then. We'll do it the hard way." He seemed pleased as he unraveled the rope, picked Lia up again, and carried her over his shoulder to the bed. He flopped her down, and turned her over, pressing a hand firmly against her back

"Don't struggle too much now. You'll only get rope burns." Squeaking Lia squirmed and kicked against him.

"No!" She yelled until he plopped her down on the bed causing her to squeak again. She started freaking out and trying to get away. "Let me go!" Leader just made an amused noise, shifting his weight so he straddled her legs. He grabbed hold of her hands, pulled them behind her back and began to tie her up.

"I told you what was going to happen. Naughty kittens get tied up." Her body rubbed against him as she struggled, and he let out a sigh.

"Besides, if you keep doing that, I'M going to be naughty." Squeaking, she looked over her shoulder at him as she continued squirming under him.

"Let me go!" She repeated, giving herself rope burn. He paused for a moment, letting her freak out under him. She was never getting alcohol ever again. Eventually, he couldn't take her squirming any longer. He growled, tied her hands tighter, shifted his weight, and flipped her over,

"No." He stated simply, straddling her again, he placed an arm to either side of her head.

"You aren't going anywhere. Stop being a brat." She made a noise, looking up at him.

"How am I being a brat? You're the one that's being a brat by ruining my fun out there and now tying me up. I don't see me doing that to you!" He stared at her silently for a few moments, before he moved, shifting her onto the floor, where he tied her to the bed post. She had room to move around, but she couldn't really reach anything but the bed.

"Go to sleep." He muttered, before he climbed off the bed and started changing his cloths. It was like he didn't care that she could watch him undress. He tossed his shirt and mesh top in a nearby basket, and tossed his shoes off in a corner. He stretched his arms over his head in a yawn, before he turned back to look at Lia.

"Why are you not asleep yet?" He noticed that she was slightly slack jawed and wide eyed. This made him chuckle.

"How can you expect me to sleep like this?" She mumbled and started struggling against the ropes again. He looked thoughtful, as he dimmed the lights down further, then walked over to the bed and sat down. He looked down at her for a few moments, struggling against the ropes.

"Well, you could climb on the bed if you want. If you had behaved, I wouldn't have tied you up in the first place." He shook his head, and took off his belt, tossing it onto a nearby chair.

"Either way, you'll figure it out." She frowned and looked at him before shifting and struggling to get up onto the bed, rubbing her wrists even more raw with the rope causing her to wince. She started to rant, and he shook his head, reached over and helped her up onto the bed. He gave her a pillow to rest on at the foot of the bed.

"Sleep already. You complain too much." He grumbled, as he took off his pants and finally crawled under his covers. He buried his face in a pillow, snuggled in and relaxed.

"Then untie me and I'll leave you be." She grumbled until she noticed that he was going to try and go to sleep. Kicking at him, she got situated so that her wrists didn't hurt so badly. "This is very uncomfortable you know." He growled, sat up and crawled over to her. He wrapped one arm around her waist, and used the other to untie her. He then dragged her up to the top portion of the bed, pulled the covers back, and tucked her in with him. She squeaked and squirmed. He wrapped both of his arms around her, and snuggled his body against her's.

"You want to complain so much, then sleep like this." He grumbled, clearly annoyed.

"O...okay." She stuttered out, blushing brightly as she froze. He snuggled her a little tighter, making soft grumbling noises before he fell asleep.

-o.0.o.0.o.0.o-

Tasha awoke with a groan. The sound of birds outside was way too loud. Her head throbbed painfully, and the light streaming into the windows, while cheery, felt like the bane of her existence. She crawled out of bed, unsure how she had gotten there. Half of her night seemed to be missing.

"Oh god. I'm not going to drink ever again." She complained, before she forced herself to clean up. When she went to get breakfast, she did not look happy at all. Deidara was eating a bowl of rice when he spotted her.

"Wow, you look worse for wear,hm." He commented. She frowned at him, sat down at the table and sprawled her upper half across it.

"You're too loud. I hate the world." She groaned. Deidara chuckled and pat her on the head.

"You definitely had too much."

"Jerk." She muttered, swatting at his hand. Deidara just raised a brow, shoveling some more food in his mouth before he got up and went into the kitchen. He brought back a large glass of orange juice, a glass of water and some food.

"I know you don't feel like eating right now, but you'll feel a bit better if you eat this,un." Deidara set the food and liquid in front of her, then went back to his rice. Tasha groaned, staring at what Deidara had put in front of her. Deidara had finished a second bowl, and she hadn't even touched a thing. He sighed, placed his bowl down, and moved his seat over to her. He pulled apart her chopstick, stirred an egg into her rice, and leaned towards her, holding the chopstick of food up to her face.

"Don't be stubborn and eat,un." Tasha frowned at being treated like a baby. That and she didn't like raw egg in her rice. Still, Deidara was insistent, until she finally ate something. It didn't agree with her stomach, yet he kept shoveling more down her throat. He made her finished the entire meal, and down both the juice and the water. Admittedly, she did feel a little better. Her head still ached like no tomorrow.

"Better?" She gave a small nod, and he seemed content with that, going back to his breakfast.

"You should either exercise or go back to bed, yeah. Hangovers aren't fun." She rolled her eyes at that.

"I envy you. You don't seem to be hurting at all." He laughed at that.

"I have a high tolerance,un." He was on his third bowl of rice. She groaned watching him. He ate a lot for someone as short as he was. Though, she had to admit, he had a physique that required a lot of calories to keep. How did he keep in such good shape? Deidara noticed her looking him over, and raised a brow over his bowl.

"So I'm receiving the Itachi treatment now?" She gave him a confused look. "You don't remember, hm?" She nodded. Deidara snorted, and pat his chest. Reaching over, he took a gulp of his water, and let out a soft huff.

"I'm not sure you want to know." She frowned. That only made her curious. Deidara finished his food, licking stray rice from his face. He sat back, his arms resting behind his head.

"You look rather determined to know though. Don't say I didn't warn you, un." By the time Deidara had finished with his explanation, Tasha was holding her head, trying to stop herself from beating it into the table. She couldn't _believe_ the stupidity she had displayed. Even worse, she had taken off her cloths in front of someone she hated! She groaned, and smacked the table with a fist.

"I'm a fucking idiot." Deidara laughed as she cursed, and leaned back his chair.

"You were under the influence. Just chalk it up to momentary crazy." She lifted her head slightly, to cast him a look of disdain.

"That's easier said Than done." She said, her voice almost a hiss. "I don't think I will ever be able to face that bastard again without feeling awkward." Deidara righted himself and leaned against the table, his arms folded under his chest.

"So, if I told you he was standing behind you, what would you do, hm?" Tasha paled, and turned to look behind her. Deidara laughed as she huffed, and turned back to glower at him.

"Jerk. That isn't funny." He continued to laugh, dodging her half-hearted swats.

"What's so funny?" Tasha had been leaning half way out of her seat when the voice spoke behind her. She gave a startled squeak, and fell off of her chair. She groaned, and crawled onto her knees. She hefted herself onto her heels to look behind her. Itachi was leaning against the doorway, eating an apple. She made a startled noise, scampered under the table to hide behind Deidara. He raised a brow at her.

"I'm not here." She half growled, half whispered. Deidara laughed and looked up at Itachi.

"Oh, just tormenting my partner, yeah." That earned him a slap from behind, which only seemed to amuse him more. Itachi laughed and shook his head.

"Seems amusing to me." He stated as he shrugged and took another bite out of his apple. Deidara nodded.

"Don't mind her. She just learned something she didn't want to remem...will you stop hitting me?" Deidara turned to arch a brow at Tasha, who was hitting him in the side as he spoke. She was giving him a very unsettled look. He sighed, and propped his head up on an arm.

"So, yeah, she has a massive hangover. As you can tell by her pleasant demeanor." Itachi laughed softly and shook his head before waving to the two of them.

"Well have fun with that massive hangover. Going to lounge around in the living room for a bit." He said as he walked away, munching on the apple. Deidara shook his head.

"Yeah, about as much fun as a broken limb,un." He commented as Tasha finally crawled from behind him and sat back down in her chair.

"S...sorry. I just felt weird. I didn't hurt you did I?" The thought of her hurting him seemed to amuse him.

"High pain tolerance." She frowned at him.

"You have tolerances to everything don't you?" He gave her a relaxed smile.

"Sure do. You still have paperwork to finish." Tasha groaned. She was not liking that idea.

-o.0.o.0.o.0.o-

Leader awoke to a sharp rap on the head. He opened a single eye to look down at what he soon realized was Lia. Why was she in his bed again? It was a bit fuzzy.

"Oww, I feel like shit." Lia complained, closing her eyes before she opened them again, noticing she wasn't in her room. "How did I get in here?" He frowned slightly, and propped himself up on an elbow. Lia was laying beside him, looking pained. His hand had strayed up under her shirt, and settled upon her stomach sometime during the night. How did she get here? That's right. She had been acting like a brat, so he brought her to his room to sleep. Why had he even bothered? He shook his head.

"Stop complaining. You have a hangover. Talking is only going to make it worse." He pulled away from her, rolled out of bed, and wandered into his bathroom. He came out a little bit later with a glass of water.

"Drink this and go back to sleep." He grumbled, holding it out to her. She took the glass of water gratefully and downed it and looked at him, her head swimming.

"What happened last night?" She asked before feeling like she needed more to drink. Getting up, she wobbled a bit before taking a step her eyes blurry from the hang over. She started her way towards his bathroom that she seen him walk to before running into a wall and crying out.

"OW. DAMN IT!" Leader watched her for a moment, and flinched when she ran into the wall. He raised a brow, before he started to laugh.

"I was already up, I could have gotten it." He shook his head, walked over and helped her up.

"You drank a bit too much." He commented, herding her back to the bed before he got her another glass of water. Taking the glass of water, she drank it a bit more slowly then smiled at him. His head didn't hurt, so he felt fine, other Than the rude awakening. He stretched sleepy muscles, before he grabbed some cloths.

"Thank you." She whispered before stretching a bit and wincing when it caused her to hurt worse. "Ow. I think I should just go back to sleep." She grumbled before flopping over on the bed and complaining some more.

"I'm going to take a shower. Don't go doing anything dangerous." He chuckled, walking into the bathroom. Waving him off, she held her head and continued to complain at the world for giving her such a head ache. Leader finished his shower before too long, and came out, drying his hair. He paused when he saw that Lia had fallen back asleep. He shook his head, a small smile on his lips, before he got dressed. His hair, still damp, hung down around his face in a warm orange halo. He ran his fingers through it, then sat down to finish paper work. He had time anyway. It was nice that she was asleep. He wouldn't have to deal with a lot of noise interrupting him.

"So much work." He complained, but worked on it with effortless ease. An afternoon passed. The Leader had gotten up twice to get food, and Lia hadn't even stirred. Finally, a small exclamation of pain caught his attention. He looked over to see Lia sit up suddenly, then flop back down. Her soft inquiry about the time almost escaped his ears. She was sitting up again, seemingly unfazed by the fact she was in a strange room. He arched a brow at her.

"It's 5." He propped his head upon an arm, leaning against his desk. "You seem pretty laid back for being in a man's room." He commented, eying what was revealed by her tank top. She blinked and looked down at her top before pulling it up, noticing that it was showing a bit more than it should have been.

"Thank you." She said softly and got up, stumbling slightly and blushing brightly. Apparently she had chosen now to be embarrassed. Looking around, she seemed confused, then she looked at him, her face still red. "Where's my shirt?" She asked before suddenly falling backwards with a yelp."Okay, so maybe I can't walk yet." She complained and grumbled softly to herself. He watched her quietly the entire time she was trying to get her bearings.

"Well, your top is somewhere in the living room." He commented, as he stood up. He needed a good stretch anyway. He walked over to her and helped her up.

"Be careful. You haven't eaten anything in who knows when. You shouldn't try to do too much." He made her sit, walked over to his desk, and picked up the sandwich he had made for her earlier. He handed it to her.

"Eat." Looking at the sandwich her stomach started growling loudly, causing her to blush brightly. Taking the sandwich, she bit into it before tilting her head.

"This is actually pretty good, thank you." She said softly before quickly finishing the sandwich off and then started turning green. "Excuse me!" Getting up quickly, she ran to the bathroom. A few minutes later the sink started running and she splashed her face and rinsed her mouth out before drinking some water. Coming out, she looked at him, face red before sighing. "Sorry about that." He leaned against the bedpost as she ran off into the bathroom. It was bound to happen.

"Its alright. Assuming it isn't all over my floor." He said with a tilt of his head.

"Still, it was worth a try to get something in you." He went back over to his desk and picked up the glass of water he had, and handed it to her. She took it gratefully.

"Won't try to stress your stomach too much. You did drink a lot of hard alcohol."

"This is your fault." She grumbled as she flopped back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. "What all happened last night? Other than drinking a lot of hard alcohol and playing cards? Oh, and my ending up in here, for whatever reason. Apparently something happened with me starting to remove my clothing? Considering my shirt is still out in the living room somewhere." He raised a brow as she spoke.

"You're talkative for one with a hangover as bad as yours." He commented, as he walked back over to his desk. He went right back to doing his paperwork. Lia raised a brow before shrugging.

"I'm a rather talkative person to begin with." He rolled his eyes.

"You tried to take your cloths off yes. Then you refused to stay in your room. So I brought you here." He glanced over at her. "You are very needy." She blushed, then tried to shrug as if it didn't bother her.

"Why did you even bother with me if I wasn't going to stay in my room? Why do you care what I was going to do or not do while I was supposedly drunk?" He paused, then stood up.

"Well, that is a good point. I was a bit liquored up myself. Who knows what my reasoning was." He walked over to look down at her as she lay there.

"Either way, while I can see that you are quite comfortable on my bed, you have a room. I need to do paperwork." His arms were crossed against his chest as he gave her a pointed look. "I'm not going to baby you all day." Lia frowned and shook her head.

"Who ever said anything about babying me?" She snapped before sitting up and stomping her way towards the door. "Good day to you!" She said before storming out of his room and slamming the door. He watched her go with a shake of his head. She was going to be bothersome.


	5. Let's be friends

The Akatsuki and the Great Oroki Redux

Chapter 5

_Hey guys! Back with a new chapter! How are you guys liking it so far? Who do you want to be together? Let a girl know! You just might get what you want. Well, on to the story!_

"Hey. Get up, un." It was early in the morning, the sun just barely changing the color of the sky. She had stayed up the entire night to finish her paperwork, and she didn't want to get up. There was a soft sigh. She chalked it up to her imagination. She was rather sleep deprived.

"How artistically beautiful you look while you sleep... But if you don't wake up, I'll blow you up...un." There was a silence. She was having a really weird hallucination. Why was her brain set on Deidara's voice?

"KATSU!" Tasha started awake at the yell, her heart nearly leaping out of her chest. Her gaze was met by a pair of blue eyes, and she flinched. She quickly sat up, pulling her cover up with her so that it bunched around her lap. Deidara was crouched beside her bed, resting one arm on his knee, his head tilted as he leaned it against his hand.

"Good morning, un." She glowered at him.

"What is wrong with you so early in the morning? Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" He gave her a weary smile.

"Only a little. Leader wants us, un." She frowned at him, her brows knit together.

"So you came into my room to wake me up? Wouldn't knocking have worked?" Deidara stood up, stretching his arms over his head.

"Yeah, but that wouldn't have been as fun as watching you jump." She threw her pillow at him as he retreated from the room, laughing. She got dressed with annoyance, and met Deidara outside her room. The two of them walked off to the Leaders room. They paused outside as they saw Lia, holding paperwork and looking embarrassed.

"Ah, Lia. What are you standing outside for?" Deidara questioned. He opened the door to the Leaders room without bothering to knock, then came back to drag Tasha into the room with him. The Leader was sitting at his desk when they just barged in, and he let out a sigh.

"Why is it that you always barge in here like that?" Deidara gave him a cheeky look.

"Because you never answer when anyone knocks."

"You're not kidding. I stood out there all night waiting for an answer. Because I have manners and knock rather than just barge in." She states before turning on her heel and started on her way out. "By the way, if I'm needed, I'll be up on the roof, probably napping since someone was rude and never answered his door last night, I didn't get any sleep." She gave a dismissive wave before walking out the door, closing it behind her. The Leader arched a brow, and looked at Deidara with a sigh.

"Wow, you made her stay out there the entire night, un?" Leader nodded.

"She needs to learn to be assertive."

"Right... What did you need us for hm?" Leader shuffled his papers, and then turned to face them.

"I'm going to send you two on a few bonding missions. Easy stuff, mostly." Deidara groaned and Tasha couldn't help but echo the sentiment. The Leader set a package down on the desk.

"First you'll have to deliver this. I know it's something only one of you need to do. " He gave Deidara a pointed look before he said anything. When he was sure Deidara wasn't going to interrupt, he continued. "I'm sending both of you so _she_ doesn't get into trouble, and you can figure out how you two fight together." Deidara grumbled, taking the package that the Leader handed him.

"There is a spy in the sand village. They will tell you what else is required." The two of them frowned at the Leader as he dismissed them. They looked at one another, before they left the room. Deidara seemed annoyed the entire walk to the outside of the actual compound, beyond the base itself. It was the first time she had seen it since she joined. It was in the middle of a village, full of weird towering buildings and things she had never seen before. To add onto that, it was raining. It wasn't raining inside the base grounds, but the city seemed dreary with cloud cover. She frowned, happy when they were on the back of one of Deidara's birds and high above the damp. She hated being wet. Though her terrible mood probably had something to do with being tired.

"Don't force yourself to stay awake. You can take a nap. I won't try and knock you off, un." She looked at Deidara skeptically as he turned back to look at her in amusement. When he turned back to watch where they were going, Tasha got an idea. She crawled slowly across the back of the bird, and snuggled right up against Deidara's back. He went rigid, and Tasha could hear his sudden intake of breath.

"Oi, don't lean on me! There is a whole bird to lay on, un!" Tasha smiled to herself, and pointedly ignored him. He grumbled, his posture gradually softening. "Baka...un."

-o.0.o.0.o.0.o-

"Before you say anything, I was not about to stand out there for another night because you were being an ass and not answering your door." Leader looked up as Lia barged into his room, just as Deidara and Tasha had hours before. He was wondering when she would show up. He gave her a blank stare as she stood there.

"I wasn't going to say anything." He said plainly, lifting a pen to his lips. Lia frowned and began pacing.

"Right. Anyway. I'm tired of being stuck here doing nothing. Isn't there some mission I can go on?" She asked. He gave her a smile laced with mischief.

"Well, I know something you could do, but that's not appropriate. A mission then." She had turned a pleasant shade of red and turned away from him. He riffled through his papers until he came up with a blue piece of paper. He held it out to her.

"Here. Lost cat request."

"You're kidding me right? A lost cat is what your going to have me do? What kind of shinobi do you think I am?" She asked, looking him in the eyes, one eye slowly starting to turn red while the other almost looked like it was icing over. "Oh, but wait, you don't trust me, do you?" Grinning, she takes the paper. "We'll see about that lost cat of yours." He raised a brow at her.

"Calm down. I never said what kind of cat it was. But if you want to get all touchy about it, than go find out for yourself." He shrugged, and went back to looking through his paperwork. It wasn't even that much paperwork, and yet he seemed to always be doing it.

"I am perfectly calm, thank you very much. And I'm assuming that you want me to take my good for nothing partner along?"

"Have fun." Lia rolled her eyes, and stomped out.

-o.0.o.0.o.0.o-

"Hey. You're heavy,un." Tasha blinked groggily. She was cozy, and there was a slight rocking sensation underneath her. She was clinging to something warm and she could hear the sound of breathing. She opened her eyes, and realized she had wrapped her arms around Deidara as she slept. He didn't look too comfortable. She pulled away, rubbing her eyes.

"I'm sorry Deidara." She mumbled, stifling a yawn. Deidara rolled his eyes, and handed her a box. She looked at it with a raised brow.

"It's food. Eat." He shoved the box into her hands. She looked at it skeptically, before she finally opened it. It was indeed food, and it smelled delicious. Her stomach rumbled loudly, and Deidara snickered.

"Don't make fun of me, I didn't get breakfast." She swatted at him as he turned around to eat his own lunch. She leaned her back against his, ignoring his muttered complaints as she dug into her food. It was weird, eating food quietly with a guy she didn't really know, but seemed to get along with, on top of a giant clay bird. It was true that she had gotten into this situation because of him in the first place, but she wasn't sure she blamed him. The village was bound to have found out about her eventually. Though the severity of their intolerance wasn't something she had anticipated. She finished her food quickly, and set the box down in her lap, gazing up at the clouds as they passed by.

"How far have we gone?" Tasha asked, looked over her shoulder at him. She could feel him sigh.

"We have a while yet. Don't worry about it, un." She frowned at him, and settled in for a long trip.

The relaxing moments seemed to halt when they reached the desert. It was too hot to lean against Deidara, who seemed perfectly fine with the temperature. She, on the other hand, was overwhelmed. She lay sprawled out across the bird's back, complaining about the heat. At least the clay underneath her felt cool. Deidara seemed amused at her discomfort. He would turn back to look at her every once and awhile, chuckle to himself, and then go back to what he was doing. If she didn't feel so overwhelmingly hot, she might have kicked him. Though, of course, she could always make him as uncomfortable as she was. She wasn't really in the mood to be mean spirited though. There was a sudden lurch, and Tasha found herself clinging to the back of the bird. Deidara muttered a curse, and Tasha gave a soft sigh when the bird stabilized. She looked over at him, as he pulled out small clay creatures and launched them out around them. That was when she spotted the sand. Why was there so much sand coming at them? Her eyes widened at the mass of sand as it swept towards them.

"Hold on dammit!" Tasha flinched as Deidara looked back at her with a glower. She had been so stunned by the sight before her that she had released her grip on the bird. She quickly clutched the back of the bird, just as it did a roll, dodging the rasping sand. She gave a small, gasping breath, her heart pounding. The sudden move had frightened her, if only a little bit. She was reluctant to admit it. As the bird bobbed and weaved under Deidara's direction, bombs exploding around them, Tasha realized how useless she felt. She hadn't thought to bring a wolf. Even if she had, the three she knew of would be useless here. She dug into her pouch, trying to keep hold of the bird as she did so. She pulled out a kunai. It had been awhile since she had done this. She dug her kunai into the back of the bird, as explosions rocked the bird side to side. She cast Deidara a look of irritation, before she went back to carving.

"Hey, don't go defacing my bird, un." Tasha looked up, noticing that Deidara was casting her a glower. She raised a brow, and finished her circle.

"I'm trying to be helpful, give me a minute." He growled, but turned his attention back to the situation at hand. She cut into her hand with a grimace, placed her palm to the back of the bird and concentrated. If she was lucky, Oroki would send her a wolf that would be helpful to her. If she wasn't, well... she didn't want to think about it. She felt a soft pulse echo through the bird, and Deidara turned to inspect her.

"What are you doing?" She raised a finger to her lips. She didn't need any distractions. Closing her eyes, she tried to focus all of her attention into her task. Something wet shoved itself against her forehead, and she opened her eyes in surprise. In front of her stood a sandy colored wolf. It was thin and spindly, resembling a fox in proportions. It wiggled, and began to rub it's body against her. Deidara was silent, watching her with a blank expression. She wasn't sure if he was confused, or trying to comprehend what was happening.

"Hi hi hi! I am Desert! It is nice to finally meet you! Oh!" The wolf splayed its legs as the bird shook. "I see! I see! I'll take care of this for you!" Desert turned to face the sand as it made another round. Suddenly, it stopped, falling down into the Desert below. Deidara let out a sigh, and the bird lazily started to drift in a circle.

"Alright. You had something like that hanging around, and you didn't bring him out sooner, un?" He questioned. Tasha let her body relax, stretching her legs out to touch Deidara's crossed ones. Desert cocked his head at Deidara, as he sat, his tongue drooping out of the side of his mouth.

"No no no. You have misunderstood! I am new to Master. We have just met." Deidara raised a brow, then narrowed his eyes at Tasha.

"So, you can summon... new wolves, un?" Tasha nodded her head. It was hard to explain really. "Sometimes. I fail more often than not." Deidara nodded, giving her an appraising look. The bird stopped it's lazy circle, and continued on to their destination.

"I'll be counting on you than, un." She almost hadn't heard him say it. She felt a surge of appreciation well up, and she giggled, leaning against Deidara despite the heat. He complained, but Tasha ignored it. It had sounded like acceptance to her. That was good enough.

They were attacked quite a few times as they continued. Each time was progressively more fierce, and Desert seemed to be having more and more trouble calming the sand down. Her insides felt drained from Deserts constant use of chakra, but it was better than whatever was controlling the sand planed. It was dark by the time they had managed to reach their destination, and Tasha was exhausted. She had almost fallen off the bird three times already, and Deidara had resorted to holding onto her, much to his projected indignation. He had even bandaged her injured hand. She was sure he wasn't as upset about it as he pretended.

"If I had realized you were going to get this tired, I wouldn't have let you do that, un." Tasha craned her head back, her forehead bumping his chin. He frowned down at her, and she wondered if he was worried. She shook her head.

"It's a new wolf, and I'm not used to the chakra is all." That was a lie, and he seemed to realize this, but said nothing. In truth, new wolves always used the summoners chakra until their own developed. It hurt terribly, having her charka pulled out like someone pulling out her veins. It really had been too long since she had done this. She had forgotten how much she hated it. Tasha groaned as Deidara shifted his weight, and let her lay down against the back of the bird. Desert sat beside her, whining.

"You can't do much. I'll be back. DON'T move, un." Tasha pursed her lips, but stay still as Deidara leapt off the bird and disappeared from sight. She hated waiting in the quiet. She closed her eyes, letting her body relax. The tug of chakra had dulled as Desert stopped using his ability, but she still hurt. There wasn't much going on either, other than the sound of sand. Which was louder than she would have thought. A sudden, sharp pull inside made her snap her eyes open, and she let out a soft squeak of surprise. There was a wall of sand, trying to crush down on the bird as it hovered there. It was held back, barely, by Desert. That explained the sudden jerk of exertion. He couldn't hold it long, she knew, because she couldn't give much more. She sat there, watching as the sand crept closer and closer.

"D...Deidara!" She managed to cry out. It was getting harder and harder to breath. There was a loud explosion, and the sand diverted. She took welcome gasps of air, spotting Deidara on a roof below. He did not look happy. Neither did the person beside her. There was a man, with bright red hair and deep red clothing, who did not seem to appreciate that they were here. He was standing on a platform of sand.

"You again." His voice was gravely, his green eyes, rimmed with dark rings, narrowed in Deidara's direction.

"Yo! I figured it was you, un." Deidara gave a malicious smirk, and Tasha felt the bird move. The red head noticed as the bird dove down, allowing Deidara to jump on. She had managed to sit up, and Deidara put a hand on her head, briefly, before he put his body between her and the redhead.

"Sorry, but we don't have time to hang out, un." Deidara stood at the tail of the bird as it rapidly rounded and sped off. He used clay figures he had pulled from somewhere, to divert and distract the red head as they escaped. Desert tried to help out, but Tasha stopped him. She ached enough as it was.

"I think he's got this Desert." The wolf whined, his ears flattened, but he nodded. Deidara was actually pretty good all on his own. He managed to get away without too much trouble. She was adequately impressed. Impressed and exhausted. She was glad when she could actually relax her muscles. It had gotten cold in the night, something she hadn't realized deserts did. She curled up to Deidara, who oddly enough, didn't complain. She fell asleep almost immediately. Desert took his leave when she did. When she finally woke up, she was curled up to Deidara's lap, and he had a hand resting on her head. She flinched, and tried to get up, but he shook his head.

"Don't bother. We are almost back to the base anyway, un. Besides, you're my partner. Being a pillow won't hurt me." She looked up at him suspiciously, and raised a hand to check his temperature. He frowned at her.

"I am not sick." She gave him a skeptical look, but lay her head down anyway. When they finally got home, he surprised her further by carrying her inside. He didn't even throw her over his shoulder. He carried her properly, and she wondered how he was strong enough to do it. They passed through the main entrance, and stopped in the living room. Deidara gave a yawn, and that was when she realized how tired he was.

"You can just leave me here Deidara. I don't want to keep you up." Deidara raised a brow at her, and set her down on one of the large couches. She took off her cloak, which had been bothering her, and stretched out, expecting him to wander off to his room, or report to the leader. Instead, he took off his own cloak, nudged her over, dragged a blanket from the back of the couch, and covered them up. She gave him a confused look, and tried to squirm away.

"Stop being stubborn and go to sleep. I don't feel like going any farther, un." He muttered, curling into her warmth. She sighed and gave in. It wasn't like she could go very far. Her body was exhausted, even with all of the sleep she had been getting. That, and Deidara had been up for two whole days. She could let the guy catch some Z's even if it made her a little uncomfortable. They would definitely be getting some food when they got up, but for now, she could deal with this. She nudged her head under his chin, and fell asleep.

-o.0.o.0.o.0.o-

It was already dark when Tasha finally stirred. She flinched slightly at the sight of an Adams apple directly in her line of sight. She quickly remembered that they had been too tired to care where they fell asleep. Her stomach rumbled, and she went red as Deidara opened an eye and pulled back to look at her.

"You're right. Food is a good idea, un." He didn't even seem phased that he had woken up beside her. She gave him a curious look as he rolled over and sat up, stretching his muscles in an effort to wake up. She groaned quietly as she sat up, her muscles throbbed. At least she felt better than she had earlier. She could manage movement without looking like she was going to die. Shifting her legs, she scooted over beside Deidara. He eyed her, as though he were making sure she wouldn't break, and then checked her bandaged hand. She gave him a puzzled look. She hadn't expected him to continue tending her once he was no longer sleep deprived. Yet here he was, inspecting her hand.

"I should get some new bandages for this before we eat, un." Tasha shook her head.

"I can get it." He looked at her with narrowed eyes, before he stood up.

"We'll both get them." She frowned, but took his outstretched hand so he could help her up, and followed her off to his room. He pulled out some bandages from his bathroom, and bandaged her hand. With that done, he dragged her off to the kitchen to silence her rumbling stomach. They ate in relative silence, before they went to their own rooms.

It was two days before the two saw each other. Deidara had reported their progress, and visited her room to give her half of the reward. She wasn't sure what she would do with the money. She could always redecorate her bland room, and perhaps find a use for the workshop next door.

"Hey, let's hang out a little bit, hm?" Tasha raised a brow at Deidara's sudden suggestion, but they were sort of friends. There was no harm in it. She agreed and the two went off to the kitchen. Before they entered, something caught Tasha's eye. Looking down the hallway that led to Deidara's room, to see the Leader and Lia. What were they doing? She tugged Deidara's shirt hem, and he looked over, raising a brow.

"What in the world...?" The two of them went wide eyed as they saw the Leader bend down towards Lia's face. Tasha went red, and ducked into the kitchen to avoid seeing the rest of what happened. Deidara stood there, watching in curiosity. When Tasha noticed this, she quickly grabbed him and dragged him into the kitchen with her.

"Deidara! Give them some privacy." He smiled, and pat her head.

"Don't look so worried. He is probably just bullying her. Tasha paused. That would make more sense than what she had though the Leader was doing. It would be weird of him to make out with someone in the middle of the hall... wouldn't it? That was when Tasha noticed Tobi, holding a white kitten. She gave him a curious look, but didn't greet him. She wasn't much of a cat, or a Tobi person. Deidara looked at Tobi with disgust, following Tasha as she walked around the counter. Someone was baking cupcakes. She hoped it wasn't Tobi. Looking around the counters, she noticed even more cupcakes, lying around everywhere. Tobi noticed Tasha and Deidara walk in before waving enthusiastically at them.

"Tasha! Sempai! Hi!" He said before looking down at the cat who started complaining at him. Going back to petting it, he smiled and looked at them again. "Meet Mittens! Lia-chan and I rescued it!" Tasha looked over at Tobi with a sigh. He seemed rather enthusiastic about the cat.

"Erm. Hi Tobi. Hello Mittens." She murmured. Deidara had ignored Tobi's words, and was looking in the refrigerator for something to eat. She watched him with a raised brow, before she gave Tobi a little bow of her head and went over to search with Deidara. They decided to cook something for dinner. Deidara made rice, which Tasha was surprised he didn't burn. She made various side dishes, and the two of them went out to eat in the living room. Tasha tried not to eavesdrop on the Leader and Lia, but it was hard to when they had the perfect viewpoint. Deidara didn't even bother trying to be subtle.

-o.0.o.0.o.0.o-

The Leader had been busy while everyone had been gone. At least, almost everyone. Those who had come back earlier kept to themselves. With a sigh, he turned on the oven. What was he doing? He was restocking his cupboards. Yes, he baked. He didn't care what anyone else thought.

"Uh, Leader? What are you doing?" He turned to look back at the voice, and he raised a brow.

"I'm making cupcakes." He stated simply. In the doorway was Lia, holding the white kitten he had sent her off to get. He hadn't expected her to take four days to complete the mission, but oh well. She probably hadn't bothered to rely on her partner at all. He walked over, and scooped the struggling kitten up into his arms. The kitten calmed almost instantly, and began to purr.

"Good job. Your reward is on my desk." Raising an eyebrow, she shook her head, glaring at the kitten before rubbing her face lightly at the angry looking scratches. Grumbling, she turned to start walking towards his room before looking over her shoulder at him.

"Yeah, I'm doing great with the scratches, thanks for asking." She said before storming out of the kitchen towards his room.

"She does not seem happy with you at all!" Tobi said cheerfully before smiling. "Can I help with the cupboard cupcakes?" The Leader raised a brow at Tobi, shoving the cat into his arms.

"No, you can not. Watch this." He followed after Lia, grabbing hold of her shoulder when he caught up to her. He turned her to face him, and clasped onto her face. He looked at the scratches on her face with a serious expression.

"Wow. It got you pretty good. Why didn't you make Tobi carry it?" He questioned with a sigh. Lia blinked and looked at him confused. Frowning, she shook her head.

"Yes, thank you for taking notice after I said something. And I did have Tobi carry it for most of the ride, but considering it got pretty far, I ended up falling asleep. My head landed in his lap, where I woke up to a cat on my face. I startled it causing it to rip my face apart." She grumbled before attempting to pull her face out of his hands. He tightened his grip, so she couldn't pull away from him.

"Calm down. Let me look." He turned her head this way and that so he could see all of the scratches. She crossed her arms, letting him inspect. He seemed to ponder them for a few moments, before he started to kiss each and every one of them. Squeaking, her eyes widened and she struggled to get away again.

"What do you think your doing?" She asked, her voice slightly high pitched as she freaked out, trying to figure out what exactly he was doing. Her face turned a bright red all over as she blushed brightly.

"Stop struggling." He muttered, making sure he didn't miss any of the various scratches. He was amused by how surprised and confused she was at what he was doing. Though he wasn't quite sure why he was doing it himself. When he was sure he had gotten them all, he looked down at her blushing, confused face, and couldn't help the sudden urge that overtook him. He planted a kiss right on her lips. She squeaked, her eyes widened, her face brightened with the blush that swept over her face. Coming to some sort of sense, she struggled trying to get away from him as she was embarrassed enough. The struggle only seemed to make him press himself to her, one hand moving to the back of her head to prevent her from running away. He kissed her thoroughly, before he paused for a breath. He looked down at her blushing, struggling form, and smiled with amusement. Lia gasped for breath, looking at him with a very confused look as her face heated with more of a blush. He gave her another, softer kiss.

"Feel any better?" He murmured as he rest his forehead against hers. Her body felt warm against his, and he was suddenly very reluctant to let her go. Panting and blushing, she looked at him and shook her head as she was breathless. Her body shook against his. Her reaction was appealing. He couldn't explain why he wanted to bully her all of a sudden. He raised a brow, his lips curling at the edges.

"No? Then I should try harder." One of his arms wrapped around her waist, and he kissed her deeply, his fingers tangling in her hair. Squeaking, she squirmed against him for a brief moment, before she passed out, going limp in his arms. He pulled back, and chuckled.

"There we go." He scooped her up into his arms, not even bothering to hide the face breaking grin that stretched his features. He carted her off to her room, tended to the scratches on her face, and then left her after he made sure she was tucked in. True, it was mean of him to be so amused by something, but he couldn't help it. It seemed to ease the frustration that had started to grow in his core. He found it a little hard to believe that he had just actively tried to seduce someone. As he went back to check on his cupcakes, he noticed Tasha and Deidara, who were diverting their gazes from his direction. He raised a brow at them, then shook his head and went back to his baking.

"Well, you seemed to have done one hell of a number on her." He raised a brow at Tobi as he spoke up, then he chuckled.

"Indeed."

The Leader was stuffing cupcakes in the cupboards. He had been busy finishing and frosting them, and it had taken hours. A sound behind him caught his attention, and he looked back to see Lia. She looked better, though she was blushing. She scampered in, grabbed an apple and tried to flee, pausing at the doorway.

"Cupboard cupcakes, you're the one that makes them?" He raised a brow, and crossed his arms, leaning against the counter to peer at her.

"Yes. Who else would bake cupcakes?" He questioned. He seemed amused that she was trying to flee him, and that she seemed so embarrassed to look at him. She slowly turned towards him, still blushing before she shrugged.

"I don't know, maybe Konan?" She said before taking a bite out of the apple and munching on it. "You don't seem the type to be baking. Putting them in the cupboard, perhaps, but not actually baking them." He shook his head, smiling. He moved away from the counter and advancing towards her. Squeaking, she jumped and tried to get away but ran into the wall.

"I like baking. Konan is a terrible baker, personally." He paused at the island, and looked at her with an appraising gaze. Lia began to blush brighter under his gaze and she began to shake her head, silently.

"You look like you could use a kiss." She went redder and shook her head harder. He laughed in amusement at her reaction, and walked over to her, leaning against the wall beside her. Squeaking, she tried to get away, backing up further into the wall, almost like she was trying to climb it or go through it.

"Oh dear. Why are you so jumpy?" He had a mischievous glint to his eye as he looked down at her. She seemed to bring out his need to bully.

"It's not like I'm going to bite you." She looked back at him and shook her head.

"Y...you just may." She was finally able to stutter out as she continued to blush, and squirm in her spot. He put both arms to either side of her, and leaned close to her face. She made a noise and jumpped, blushing brightly.

"Only if you want me to." He murmured. She was close enough he could feel the heat of her skin. He was unusually riled up today. He didn't mind. He was amused by the little kitten in front of him. A soft whimper escaped from her lips, as she seemed frozen in place. He gave a smile at her quiet sound of approval. He leaned down at the inviting noise, his teeth gently grazing the skin of her neck. His hands moved of their own accord to rest on her hips, rocking them gently against his own. He rightly didn't care that he was getting a little bit more involved than he should be. He was feeling heated, not much mattered to him right then. She blushed and began to squirm a bit, but didn't offer too much resistance. He ran his tongue along her skin, his breath heated against her skin. His fingers slid up under her shirt, rubbing the soft skin beneath. And then someone cleared their throat. Leader looked up, and sighed as he saw Kisame, raising a brow at him.

"Um. This is a terrible place to be doing that. Not that I'll stop you..." Kisame said as he picked a cupcake off of the counter. He dug in, leaning against the island. The Leader grumbled, reluctantly pulling away from Lia. He ran a hand through his hair, seeming annoyed.

"You have awful timing Kisame." He grumbled. He was visibly riled up, not that Kisame was going to mention it.

"I...if you need me, I...I'll be in my room." She said before darting off, not bothering to listen to either of them if they were to say something to her. The two blinked as she ran off, and Kisame shook his head.

"Wow man. Control your Libido." He rolled his eyes at Kisame's comment, and gave Itachi a nod of the head. With a frustrated sigh, he decided to down a few cupcakes.

-o.0.o.0.o.0.o-

Tasha and Deidara were chilling on the couch together, listening to music. They had finished dinner hours ago, and decided to chill. Deidara had brought out clay to play with, while Tasha played with paper planes. She was trying to get them to land a certain distance before they would poof into nothing. It was relaxing. Deidara soon joined her, and they had a competition to see who could get them the closest to a specific line. Deidara was wining, unsurprisingly. He had better eye hand coordination than she did.

"Ah this is fun." Tasha commented, as the speakers rumbled softly in the background. Deidara nodded in agreement, watching as a paper plane drifted lazily across the room.

"It's too quiet though. Everyone else is gone except for us, the Leader, Lia and her partner." She sighed, resting her head on Deidara's shoulder. "It's kind of lonely like this." Deidara looked over at her.

"Really? I like the quiet. I can get more done, un." She rolled her eyes at him.

"Well, I don't like it." She pursed her lips, and Deidara reached up to rub her head.

"Alright, I get it, un." She shifted her weight so she sat up and was hip to hip with him, then she started to throw paper planes again. She hated being bored. She would have welcomed a distraction right then.

"Seems like your having a little fun there." Itachi said as he took a bite out of his cupcake. Tasha visibly flinched, and nearly crawled onto Deidara's lap. Deidara blocked her at the last minute, and she gave him a soft whine.

"Suck it up un." He muttered at her, looking back at Itachi. "Actually, it's kind of boring." Tasha sighed, pursing her lips at having been denied a hiding spot. Reluctantly she turned her gaze to look back at him. Her heart beat immediately sped up, and she mentally scolded herself.

"It's just normal idol play." She murmured. Itachi nodded his head before sitting on the arm of the couch.

"Seems like everyone is bored these days." He commented before yawning and getting up to stretch. After stretching, he went and sat down in the window seat looking out the window. "It doesn't seem like there's many of us left at the base." Was he making idol chatter? Tasha watched him, before visibly relaxing. If he was just going to use them to fill his loneliness, than she was okay with that.

"Well, it's rare that we are all here at the same time, un." Deidara commented, tossing a paper plane at the stereo.

"Oh? Are you guys usually that busy?" Tasha questioned. She didn't know much about the Akatsuki other than their trademark clothing and their reputation. He looked at her before nodding her head.

"Its not very often that we have time off. There's a lot of times that our missions takes days to complete so there's hardly ever anyone in the base period. We're lucky that we have this time off." He said before shrugging. "Sometimes I would much rather be busy than be stuck here doing nothing all day." He commented before looking out the window again and sighed softly. Tasha tilted her head. She wasn't sure how she felt about how laid back Itachi was. Not that she had even known what he was like to begin with. She HAD just assumed he was a repressed pervert. He seemed more lonely than anything. Shaking her head she tossed a paper plane after one of Deidara's.

"That's kind of a sad existence. I would rather spend time with people than be off doing some mission." Her plane bumped Deidara's aside. Itachi looked back at her and shrugged.

"Well, I hate sitting Idly, un."

"I would have to agree with Deidara. As well with most people here, we would much rather be doing something than just idly sitting around waiting for another mission." He said before going back to looking out the window. For some reason, Tasha felt that he was avoiding her gaze. Not that she minded. It just struck her as weird. What reason could he have not to look at her? She knew she wasn't that pretty, but that seemed kind of mean. She frowned to herself, and Deidara raised a brow.

"Why are you frowning? It's just the way everyone here thinks. You'll get used to it. Before you know it you'll be just like the rest of us, un." Tasha sighed. Deidara misunderstood her expression, but that was probably best. She leaned against him, while he complained, but didn't do anything to stop her.

"That's just too lonely for someone like me." She commented, stretching her legs out. Itachi raised an eyebrow at her.

"Not really, at least you keep some company with your partner, no?" Shrugging, he stretched out on the window seat and yawned softly. "Its just how we've done things for so long." True enough. Tasha had been technically alone for most of her life. Sure she had a village, and sure they had been relatively nice to her, but she had never really formed that many bonds. A partner was already more than she was used to. Still, somewhere deep down she knew she craved something more than this.

"True enough." She looked up at Deidara, and gave him a friendly nudge with her head. Deidara rolled his eyes at her, but returned the nudge. The two of them really got along well together. It had been ages since she had ever know someone who was so compatible with her.

"But wouldn't you get lonely, just relying on your partner for everything? They can't fill all the roles in your life." She murmured. Itachi seemed to be absolutely fascinated by the window.

"Wow, you're getting serious about the subject, un." Deidara commented, leaning his head against hers. Itachi blinks and looks back at her for a moment before nodding.

"But you also have to remember, we're shinobi, its a rather lonely life. There's several that don't even get to have relationships with their partners, let alone anyone else." He stated, a deep sadness in his eyes before he looked away. Tasha pursed her lips, as she noticed the strange look he had given her. Why was he so sad?

"There are plenty of shinobi who are not lonely at all. They have friends and love and... f.. family." She stumbled over the last word, frowning to herself. That's right. This was supposed to be a family. She hadn't even noticed the curious tilt of the head that Itachi turned her way.

"Deidara, the Leader said we are a family right?" Deidara rolled his eyes, but nodded. "Does that make you two my brothers?" Deidara's brows knit together.

"I hope not un." He didn't seem like he wanted to be related to either her or Itachi. His response lifted her out of her sinking mood.

"I don't think it would be classified as that sort of family, but that's the general idea, I guess." He said, still a hint of sadness in his eyes as he looked at her. Or was it more loneliness than it was sadness? Sighing, he looked away again and shook his head. "You can have friends and family and still be considered lonely."

"Wow, you are depressing Itachi-san." Tasha commented, her brows knit together. Deidara snorted.

"Ain't that the truth, un?" Tasha sighed. The conversation was taking a drasticly depressing turn.

"Can we change the topic now? I hate feeling this sad." She slipped under Deidara's arm, and lay across his lap. He muttered a complaint, then used her as an arm rest.

"That all depends on what you want to change the topic to." He stated, not even bothering to look at the two as he watched the clouds float by in the sky and stretched out on the window seat.

"I haven't the slightest clue." She propped her head up on an arm. Deidara sighed.

"Well, there really isn't much to talk about, since we don't know one another very well, un." Tasha looked back at Deidara with a raised brow, before she pulled herself from under him. She had to readjust her shirt afterwords.

"True enough. Those cupcakes smell pretty good." Deidara laughed.

"Speaking of which, I wonder if Lia has recovered from that assault?" Tasha went red, as Deidara reminded her of the incident they had witnessed.

"What assault are you talking about?" Itachi asked, grinning. Deidara looked over at Itachi.

"Ah, the Leader made out with Lia in the hallway, un." Itachi raised an eyebrow before laughing.

"Really?"

"I don't know. The Leader seemed pretty intent." Tasha seemed embarrassed by the conversation. Deidara noticed this, a wide grin crossing his face.

"Does the topic of sex make you uncomfortable, un?" Her face turned a very bright red in response.

"Aww, is the pup too shy to speak of sex?" Itachi teased as he pulled a leg up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them as he watched the two. Tasha didn't like that the two of them were teasing her. She frowned, bringing her hands up to hide the color of her cheeks.

"S...shut up! I can be embarrassed about whatever I want to." Deidara leaned closer to her, and she shrunk away.

"You're cute when you're embarrassed." Tasha swiped at him, and he dodged, laughing.

"Believe it or not, I would have to agree with him. But what makes you think the the Leader was making out with her?" Tasha froze at those words, and gave Itachi an odd look. She wasn't quite sure how to react to that.

"I'm not at all cute." She muttered. "Besides, last time I checked, kissing someone until they pass out qualifies as making out." Deidara raised a brow. Itachi also raised an eyebrow before shaking his head.

"You are too cute, you're beautiful even." He said before shrugging. "You sure he wasn't tending to those scratches that I heard she got, from some cat?" He asked.

"You couldn't even bring yourself to look at them you silly girl, un." He tossed an airplane at her and she growled. "And despite what you may think, you are attractive, un." Tasha glowered at Deidara through her new found color. Laughing at the two of them, he shook his head and looked out the window.

"Why don't we get another opinion from the Leader himself?" Deidara and Tasha paused. That was actually a good idea. It was probably also a good thing that what Itachi had said did not register in her brain. Deidara stood up, brushing off his pants.

"Alright than. Let's go ask him." Deidara walked towards the kitchen and Tasha scrambled to her feet to follow after him. She didn't want to be left behind with Itachi. In the kitchen, the Leader was busy eating a sandwich with Kisame. He looked bothered by something, though what she wasn't sure. Raising an eyebrow at him Itachi shrugged and went to stand by Kisame.

"So, Leader, we have a question for you, well two actually. Did you actually make out with Lia? And do you think Tasha is cute?" He asked, leaning against the counter, arms crossed over his chest. Tasha paled as Itachi asked the Leader his questions, and she cast him a hateful glower. The Leader paused mid-bite and arched a brow at Itachi. He gave Tasha an appraising look, making her feel uncomfortable. He finished his sandwich, smirking as Kisame laughed.

"Well, here are your answers, you nosy hermit. Yes, I did. And.." He walked over to Tasha, who had shrunk back to hide behind Deidara. He paused so she didn't flee, and bent down to look at her, one hand on his chin thoughtfully.

"Yes, she is rather cute." Tasha went red, and ducked farther behind Deidara. He and Itachi laughed.

"Well, we are in agreement than, un." Deidara commented.

"Yes, so it seems, we're all in agreement." He stated before stretching and pulling away from the counter, walking over to Tasha and Deidara before placing a hand on her shoulder. "Sorry, but you're outvoted on this one." Tasha flinched away from Itachi's touch, and glowered at them, turning away in a huff.

"I hate all of you guys, ganging up on a girl." She complained quietly. Itachi smirked, chuckling with a shake of his head.

"That may be true, but at least we're honest." He said into her ear. She frowned at him. Deidara smirked, and grabbed hold of her head, ignoring her squirming and flailing. It was then that Lia decided to walk in and make a sandwich. Judging by the redness of her face every time she looked at the Leader, what he had said was true.

"Well, hello there Lia." The Leader said with a small curl of his mouth. Lia blushed, and took a deep breath.

"Oh, hello, Leader, Kisame, Tasha, Deidara and Itachi." She said softly before taking a bite out of her sandwich. Deidara gave her an acknowledging nod, while Tasha squirmed and tried to get away from him. It wasn't very successful to say the least. As Lia finished up her food, she looked over at the leader "Oh, I forgot to get my reward for the last mission, is it still on your desk?" The Leader raised a brow at her.

"Perhaps. Did you need it?" He questioned, as he turned a scolding eye towards Deidara and Tasha. Deidara had dragged Tasha into the hall just outside of the door, and Tasha had managed to kick him in the leg. Itachi had wandered off when the conversation started.

"Yeah, sort of. I was wanting to possibly decorate my room and maybe get some training equipment to put into the workshop next to my room, if that was possible." She said. The Leader turned his attention back to Lia, and arched a brow.

"Alright. Yes, it is on my desk still." He picked up one of the cupcakes he still hadn't put away, and bit into it. Kisame seemed curious. She smiled and nodded before grabbing a cupcake for herself.

"What kind of training room you going to make?" Kisame asked.

"Well, that I'm not quite sure about just yet. There will probably be bulls eyes for kunai's and I'm not exactly sure what else I'm going to put in there yet but I'm sure I'll figure it out when I get enough to actually do it all." She said before finishing off her cupcake and then grabbed a glass of water. Kisame nodded.

"Well, let me know when you get it figured out." He said with a toothy grin. She smiled and nodded at him.

"I will." The Leader stretched and gave a small yawn.

"Well, I'm going to hit the hay. I've been busy today." He murmured, and waved a small good bye to Kisame. "Come on if you want your money." He told Lia before he walked out of the kitchen. Blinking, Lia nodded and waved bye to Kisame as well before following the Leader out of the kitchen, almost running into him. He paused for a moment to see Deidara and Tasha fighting like siblings in the living room. He shook his head. Those two seemed like they were destined to be partners.

"Are we going or not?" She asked, crossing her arms over her chest. He turned to raise a brow at her, and sighed, before he continued on. When they got to his room he walked over to his desk, picking up an envelope and holding it out to her. She looked at the envelope that he held out to her, almost like it was going to bite her.

"Here you are. Your pay for catching Mittens here." He commented, as the little white kitten came bounding out from under his bed and latched onto his pant leg.

"For the record, I hate that cat." She mumbled as she took the envelope and turned to walk away. Looking over her shoulder at him she raised a brow. "By the way, I'm still not happy with you for sending me on that mission in the first place." He laughed at how she seemed to dislike the kitten. He picked him up, who purred loudly, turning bright eyes at Lia as she spoke.

"Aw. I love mittens. And you seemed to like the cupcakes that came out of it." He gave her a mischievous smile. "If that reward isn't enough, I can give you something more." She rolled her eyes and turned away before stopping and turning towards him.

"Well, I seriously dislike that cat. Scratching me all to hell like that. What the hell did I do to make it do that?" She asked before raising an eyebrow. "Something more? And what would something more, be exactly?" He smirked, and set Mittens down on the desk. He curled up into a ball, and purred contently on top of a pile of paperwork. He walked over to her, and rubbed her head.

"Do you remember what I did in the kitchen? I'll continue that." He seemed intent, his eyes glinting with the prospect. Blushing brightly, she nodded her head, seemingly unable to speak. Finally, she cleared her throat and looked at him.

"And what exactly was that in the kitchen, that you'll supposedly continue?" He gave a small tilt of his head, before he walked over to his door and locked it. He then turned to look at Lia a serious expression on his face.

"Well, since we are in my room, why don't I show you?" He advanced towards her at a leisurely pace. Squeaking, her eyes widened and she took a stumbling step back away from him, shaking her head.

"U...uh, lets not." She said before bumping into his desk, causing Mittens to look at her and hiss. He gave a small, cheeky smile, and walked over to the desk. He moved Mittens, who grumbled, moving to lay in one of the arm chairs.

"You positive about that?" He asked with an amused look, as he lifted a hand, brushing a lock of hair from her face.

"No, I mean yes! Oh I don't know!" She said, shaking her head, blushing as she looked away from him, her hair falling into her face. Taking a deep breath, she looked at him again, still blushing. "What is it that's going on between us?" He paused, and brushed the hair out of her face again. He moved the chair that was under his desk out of the way, and took hold of her hips. He rest his head against her neck. Her body was warm and inviting. He was having terrible ideas. She squirmed underneath him.

"Hm. What a good question. What does it feel like it is?" He asked, his teeth gently grazing her skin. She blushed hard, shivering against him before placing her hands on his shoulders and trying to push him away.

"I... I don't know what it feels like, I don't know what its supposed to even be." She said shaking her head. He sighed. He gazed at her for a few moments, as though he were making a decision. She seemed oblivious. He wasn't in the mood to force anything either. With an annoyed noise, he pulled away from her and went over to Mittens. He cuddled the cat in his arms, flopping down in the chair.

"Sorry. I'm just in a mood today. I hope I didn't scare you." He frowned, more at himself than at her, before Mittens nuzzled his chin. He raised a brow at the cat, who just licked him and purred. Hearing his response, she looked at him, hurt in her eyes, smiled and shook her head.

"No, its okay. I guess I should go to my room and figure out what I'm going to do." She said softly, hopping off his desk and didn't even give a second glance to him and the cat as she walked out of his room. He sat there for a few moments, feeling extremely confused. Did she just get hurt, because he _didn't_ do something? He frowned, rubbing Mitten's ears.

"That girl confuses the hell out of me." He complained to the cat. It gave him a soft meow, rumbling under his fingers. He sighed, picked the kitten up and went to bed.


	6. Leisurely Painting

The Akatsuki and the Great Oroki Redux

Chapter 6

_Hey guys! Don't forget to check out zahira stark! She does the other half of this story. Enjoy guys!_

Tasha yawned, and stirred her rice with her chopsticks. She had an idle day, since she had been on a mission with Deidara not too long ago. Three weeks had passed since she had recruited Desert, and Deidara and her were rather close. She never realized how much fun you could have with someone who was compatible. He felt like a long lost brother to her. He was currently in his workshop, making a batch of clay sculptures. She had nothing to do at all. So she was having breakfast by herself. The base was as eerily quiet as usual, and she kind of understood what Itachi meant when he said he would rather be out on missions.

"Why did I get up so early on my day off?" She muttered to herself. Probably because she was finally able to take the time to decorate her room and workshop. If she ever got around to ordering the things she needed from the Leader. She didn't trust herself out in that weird village that surrounded the base. It was much too wet and gloomy.

"You're up awfully early on a day off." A voice spoke. Tasha looked up as Itachi sat down and started eating his rice. She arched a brow at him.

"So are you." She replied, and went back to quietly eating her food. She had gotten used to seeing him, even if it wasn't that often. Not that she was complaining. She piled a few of the side dishes she had made onto her rice, and quickly finished eating. Raising an eyebrow he looked at her and shrugged.

"I'm always up early, even on days off. It helps with keeping on a schedule." He stated as he finished off his rice. "So, what are you up to today?" She stacked her bowls up, set them aside, and took a bite of her rolled omelet.

"You make me sound lazy." She commented as she chewed. She picked up another piece, and stuffed it in her mouth, casting him a glance. "I'm going to talk to the Leader about some things. After that, I'll find something to do." Itachi laughed and shook his head.

"Never said you were lazy." He stated before shrugging. "I'm just so used to getting up early that even on days off, I get up early just to stay on that schedule. A lot of times Leader likes to hand out missions early in the morning so that they get done as soon as possible." Smiling, he finishing off his rice and set his bowl aside. "So, have you decided on what you're going to do with that workshop next to your room?" She finished her food, and stacked the rest of her dishes. She turned to him with a small sigh. He seemed pleasant, but it felt creepy somehow.

"I have, but I don't see why you should know." She commented, picking up her dishes and taking them into the kitchen to wash. The fact that he was talking to her at all was starting to make her unsettled. It probably didn't help that it felt like he was prying.

"Ouch, thanks for the stab there, pup." Tasha blinked, and turned to scowl at him as he came into the kitchen. He rinsed out his bowl.

"I was just curious. You know, it would be nice to get to know each other since we're all living together." Shrugging, he got himself a glass of orange juice and leaned against the sink. Frowning, she made a shooing motion at him.

"How am I supposed to wash these with you blocking the path?" She complained, plopping her dishes in the second half of the sink. She didn't like standing so close to him, but she also hated leaving dirty dishes. He laughed softly before he moved out of her way and leaning against the island watching her. She grabbed the soap, and his bowl, then started washing.

"Do you know everyone here well, or do you just want to know about me?" She asked giving him a sour look.

"I do actually. Well aside from you and Lia, since you two are the newest members here." He stated before shrugging. "And yes, I would like to get to know about you." She frowned at the dishes in front of her as he spoke. She was pretty sure she didn't really want to get to know this man. She gave him a wary look and started rinsing the dishes. He walked over, grabbed the dishes and started drying them off.

"Well, that is quite the accomplishment." She muttered, stacking dishes on a towel. She grabbed a second towel to dry her hands.

"I've been here for quite sometime, its not that hard. You really get to know someone when they are drunk. At least men, anyway." He stated before he shrugged. Finally, she turned to face him.

"Why exactly do you want to know things about me?"

"Because, I do think you're rather beautiful and considering your bedroom is right next to mine, I don't see why not. As well as the fact that it seems we have all the same days off." She paused, and arched a brow, shifting so she leaned against a counter that was away from him.

"What people do when they are drunk doesn't necessarily reflect who the person is." She commented, feeling more uncomfortable the more they talked. "Are you... trying to hit on me?" She questioned, a puzzled look crossing her face. Why else would he be trying so blatantly to get information out of her? Raising an eyebrow he stared at her.

"Why, do you want me to be hitting on you?" He questioned before shaking his head. "No, I'm not hitting on you. And as far as what people do when they are drunk shows a lot more than you think. Not that you stripping really showed much other than you can't hold alcohol very well. Drinking isn't for everyone." Tasha grimaced, and turned with an annoyed sound.

"Dear god no. Being hit on by you would be terrifying." At least he wasn't hitting on her. He claimed. Either way, she didn't really want to continue talking to him. Itachi smirked and raised a brow.

"Is that so? I think you do want me to hit on you." He commented. He was bringing up uncomfortable memories that she had thought she had forgotten.

"Anyway, if you are going to bring up what happened while I was drunk, I'm going this way." She made a gesture in a circle, to indicate she would rather be anywhere really. With that, she fled from the kitchen and down the hallway that led to Deidara and the Leaders rooms.

-o.0.o.0.o.0.o-

Tasha sighed, as she leaned against the wall in the Leaders room. He was stroking the head on a white kitten that lay sprawled across his desk. She had been relieved when he hadn't asked her why she had blatantly run into the room without any kind of warning. His room was comforting at least, and she had gotten used to talking to him, even if he sometimes made a lewd comment. At least he meant well.

"So, what have you ran here so enthusiastic about?" Tasha looked up as the leader spoke, and she gave him a weary smile.

"Yes, I wanted to talk about decorating my room."

Tasha walked out of the Leaders room feeling much better then when she went in. No matter how riled up she was before hand, he always seemed to know how to calm her down. For the moment, she had to find the storage room. The Leader had told her there was extra paint in there if she wanted it. Some of the other things she needed she would have to wait for them to come in. She didn't really like that she had to wait for some of her things, but she knew she couldn't have things instantly. She paused in the living room to try to get her bearings.

"Well, the fleeing pup returns." A voice caught her attention, and she visibly jumped. She turned her gaze to see Itachi, who was sitting in a window. She frowned at him. He smirked before sighing. "Sorry if I seemed to make you feel uncomfortable earlier in the kitchen." She crossed her arms, and shook her head.

"Don't call me weird names." She muttered. She wondered if asking him where the storeroom was located would be a good idea. Laughing, he shook his head and held his hands up.

"Fine, Tasha." He stated. "You look a little lost. Mind if I offer a little help to get you to where you're trying to go?" She grimaced.

"That is even weirder." She shook her head, trying to stop the confusing goosebumps that traveled up her skin. Raising an eyebrow he tilted his head.

"What's even weirder?" He questioned. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"You calling my name like that is weird."

"Do you know where the storeroom is?" She finally decided to ask him. What was the worse that could happen? She would have preferred to ask Deidara, but she knew he was not going to answer his door while he was in his workshop. "I need to find the paint." Smiling, he nodded and stretched a bit.

"How about we have something to snack on and then I can show you where the storage room is." She gave a sigh.

"I ate breakfast not that long ago. But if you really need to get a snack to go to the store room, then fine." She was quite reluctant, and it showed on her face, but she just wanted to get it over with.

Smiling, he went into the kitchen and opened a cupboard where a few of the cupcakes fell out. He sighed, catching them.

"Want one?" He asked, holding one out to her as he took a bite out of the second one and set the third one down on the counter. "So, what color paint are we going to be looking for?" Tasha frowned, and looked down at the cupcake. She had followed him into the kitchen even though she wasn't hungry. Why was he still offering her food?

"I'm good." She sighed, moving away from the offered pastry. "I'm not sure what color I want yet. I'll know when I see it." She gave a small shrug. He was definitely the nosy type. He shrugged and finished his cupcake, then washed his hands.

"All right, you ready to go searching for paint?" He asked before heading towards a rather decrepit looking hallway.

"No, I asked you for no reason." She grumbled quietly. She made a face, but followed him. She could relax when she was in the safety of her room. Rolling his eyes, he came up to a door that looked like it hadn't been opened in ages. Opening it, dust went flying and he coughed, waving the dust out of his face. Tasha coughed, and cringed at how dusty the inside of the room was.

"Well, here you are. Anything you wish to take, go for it." He said before turning towards the door. "Are you going to need help carrying anything back to your room?" He asked. She turned to watch him as he walked to the door, and she raised a brow.

"Well, it may take awhile to search this, but I should be okay." With a reluctant noise, she pulled out a cloth from her pocket and tied it around her face. She then dove into the piles of things stacked haphazardly throughout the room.

"Should you need me, I'll be in the living room." He stated before walking away. She rolled her eyes, trying not to stumble over boxes as she dove deeper into the room. It was well past noon by the time she finally found what she wanted. She made a triumphant noise, and took her time dragging the buckets of paint to the front of the room. She plopped down on one to take a breath. The paint was heavier then she had expected.

"Okay. Now to just look through it." She murmured through her mask.

-0.o.0.o.0.o.-

He had been taking a nap with Mittens when he heard her. He hadn't really expected anyone to come bother him while he was sleeping. When she began pulling on his blankets, he let out a small sigh.

"You do realize that its almost noon and everyone else that's here is already up, lazy." He opened one pale purple eye to look at her, as Mittens made an annoyed meowing noise.

"Kitten, I was up all night. I think I have the right to a nap. His voice was rough and heavily sleep laden, but quiet. She looked at him with a raised eyebrow before rolling her eyes.

"And your point being what? Everyone else around here usually stays up all night and doesn't sleep all day." She muttered, tugging on the blankets some more. "Now come on." He gave a small growl and sat up. His sheets pooled around his hips, showing that he liked to nap shirtless. He reached over to where she was tugging on his blanket so insistently, and dragged her onto his bed beside him. He leaned over her, a small frown tugging the corners of his mouth. She gave a small squeak, turning red.

"Why are you being so insistent so early in the morning?" Looking at him, she shook her head.

"B... because its not early and not technically morning anymore." She said, pointing at the clock that said it was just after noon. "And, I had a question for you about if we had any spare paint so that I could paint my room." She stated, sticking her tongue out. He arched a brow, and raised a hand to her face. He traced the outline of her cheek, before running a finger across her bottom lip.

"I have a different way of telling time." He grumbled. He gave her forehead a kiss. "And if you keep sticking your tongue out at me, I'm going to eat it." Grinning, she stuck her tongue out at him again.

"Aww, am I upsetting the Leader?" She asked, laughing softly before shaking her head. "I don't care if you have a different way of telling time. Apparently it's off and you need to get your lazy butt up out of bed. Its not often that I ask for help and I'm asking you for help on if we have paint or not." His mouth twitched as she spoke.

"Yes, you are upsetting me, but in a very different way." He commented, seeming not to have heard much of what she had said. He shifted, and he was soon leaning over her, an arm to either side. "You look pretty good down there." He nuzzled against her neck, enjoying the warmth her body gave. It was possible no one had ever told her what he was like when he was half asleep, but then again, most preferred not to mention it. She made a cute noise, blushing beneath him.

"Wh...what are you doing?" She stuttered, trying to get out from beneath him. He chuckled and continued to nuzzle her.

"Well, there are a lot of things that a man and a woman can do in a bed. Which do you think this is?" He commented, licking the skin that had heated from his breath. He shifted his weight so he straddled her, pulling the blanket along with him. He wasn't wearing much. "Now stop squirming." She had raised her hands to his chest, as though she were going to push him away.

"Y...you didn't answer my question." She stuttered.

"Of course I didn't. I'd rather touch you." He murmured, looking down at her body. His hand edged its way up the edge of her shirt.

"W...why?" He smirked and bent, pressing his mouth hotly against hers. His tongue found its way into her mouth, and roamed at its own will. She pushed against him again, as she went back to squirming. He pulled back, his body clearly heated as he looked down at the squirming girl beneath him.

"What do you mean why? You're my type." He sat back, taking one of her hands and lifting it up to his lips. "Do I really need another reason?" She blushed, looking at him for a moment before she closed her eyes. She took a shaky breath, before opening her eyes again, biting into her bottom lip.

"N...no, you don't need another reason." He smiled down at her response, and reached over to brush hair from her face.

"Am I making you uncomfortable?" He questioned. His expression wasn't as sleepy as it had been before. Mittens meowed from the pillow beside Lia's head, as though echoing the question. She blinked and shook her head, her face crimson.

"N..no. Its just that... I've never been with someone before." She said, obviously embarrassed. She covered her face with her hands and took another shaky breath. He froze. He gave a soft sigh. Well that wasn't good. What did he think he was doing, with someone so inexperienced? He groaned, and rolled off her to sprawl on the bed beside her. He placed a hand across his eyes, and heaved a deep sigh.

"You really should have mentioned that at some point when I was more awake." He commented, peering at her through one half covered eye.

"We do have paint by the way. Was... that what you had asked me for? I vaguely remember it." Frowning, she looked away before nodding. Something about her demeanor didn't seem right.

"Ye...yes, that's what I was asking for." She said softly before shrugging and sitting up. "So, where is this paint that I can look at and choose from?" She didn't even bother looking at him as she straightened up her shirt and slid out of his bed. Yes, there was something wrong. He frowned, sat up and wrapped his arms around her waist. He lay his head against her hip. She made a startled noise.

"Oi, oi. I think I know where this is going. Stop that." He scolded. He didn't like that kind of thinking. "There is not a rejection going on." He was very reluctant to let her go. Misunderstandings were never something he liked. "Talk to me hun." She looked down at him with a frown, before she flopped back down on the bed.

"Oh? Well then, please tell me why it is you just suddenly stopped? I know I'm not the kind of person to have someone like you. Its not like I've never been rejected by someone before, so please, save the pity party for someone else." She said, looking towards the wall. "I know I'm not good enough, I don't know why I've even bothered." He frowned, grabbing hold of her chin and turned it towards him.

"I. . ." He said sternly. "The only one pitying you is yourself. I don't want to take something that isn't mine to take." He paused to make sure she got what he was trying to say, before he went on. " That is something you give to someone important to you. You hardly know me." He gave a soft sigh, and bumped his forehead against hers. "Why are you getting so upset about this? Were you wanting to give that to me?" He questioned, his voice tinged with confusion.

"Apparently neither of us are very good at expressing ourselves because it sure seemed like you were rejecting me after I told you that I've never been with someone, anyone in fact." She stated before shrugging. "Perhaps you are someone important to me. You've given me something no one has even bothered trying to give me. Perhaps I'm just confused after the mixed signals you've been giving me." She shrugged again. "I'm upset because I like you!" She said before bringing her hands up to her face and shaking her head. He looked at her for a few moments as she ranted, then wrapped his arms around her torso, resting his head against hers. She said he had mixed signals, she clearly wasn't all that aware of her own body. Now would be a terrible time for him to bring it up.

"You hardly know me at all. I can't say if I return those feelings, not yet anyway." He sighed heavily, closing his eyes as he let her warmth soak in. " Let's grind the wheels a bit slower for now. We seem to be going way too fast for either of us to cope with." She sighed and leaned back against him. "And this is why I said perhaps I'm just confused." She shivered slightly, almost unnoticeably. He tightened his grip, pulling her against the warmth of his body.

"We'll see. Don't stress out about it alright?" His voice held a comforting tone. At least she seemed to have eased, if only slightly. " So, need any help with that room of yours?" Raising an eyebrow she shrugged.

"Well I was hoping to find some paint. Then, maybe, figure out what I was going to do with my room because honestly right now, I don't know what I want to do with it. Its not like I've really had my own room for several years till recently." He smirked.

"Well, we have plenty of paint, assuming the wolfling hasn't used all of it." He looked thoughtful. " As for what to do with your room, just try to make it feel comfortable. You'll eventually fill it up with things you like." He motioned to his room with a swipe of one arm.

"I mean, look at my room. It took ages for it to get like this." She nodded, smiling.

"I love how you did your room though. It's so comforting." Shrugging she looked around and took a deep breath. "I still don't know how I'm going to make myself comfortable in my room though. I've gotten so used to being outside that its gotten hard to sleep inside." He titled his head at her, and used her as a chin rest.

"I'm glad you like it." He murmured, looking thoughtful.

"Why not bring the outside in? It would be messy, but you could do it." He commented.

"And how exactly would I do that?" She questioned. He paused and gave her a shake of his head.

"By... putting dirt and plants and things in your room?" He replied, seeming to find the question silly. Blinking, she looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"I guess that could work." She said hesitantly before she smiled. "That's it!" She squealed and turned around, hugging him. "Thank you! You are officially my muse for my room." She blushed, giving him another smile. He gave her a briefly heated expression, before he closed his eyes, took a breath and gave her a pat.

"I'm glad to be of service. Now, off on your grand adventure." He chuckled, as Mittens seemed to deem it appropriate to wedge himself between the two of them, purring. Looking down at Mittens, she raised an eyebrow.

"So you want to play all lovey dovey now after you decided to make scrambled eggs out of my face?" She asked the cat before tentatively petting him. He arched his back under her fingers, before he turned his head and bumped it against her hand repeatedly. The Leader chuckled, and watched the cat as it moved circles in his lap, trying to get Lia to rub his head. Lia giggled, and obliged the cat.

"Well, he wasn't a vicious cat to begin with." He commented, leaning back into a more relaxed position, his elbows propping his body up. Looking at him, she raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, well tell that to my face." She said. There was still evidence of scratches scattered across her face. He brought a hand up, and traced the fading lines that crossed her cheek.

"He was scared and upset. He didn't mean it." Mittens mewed, flopping over onto his back, exposing his belly. The Leader obligated the cat with a belly rub.

"And you mister. This is my lap, not a cat haven." Laughing Lia shook her head.

"Scared and upset, I get, but not the whole being mean thing." She stated, rubbing Mittens belly as well. Mittens lifted his head, and gently nipped Lia's hand. The Leader chuckled, grabbing the cats head and giving it a gentle shake. The cat reached up and grabbed his hand and the two play fought. Lia watched the two fight in amusement.

"You silly animal." He was smiling now, when he looked up at Lia. " He really is a good cat."

"I'm sure he is. He was really good with Tobi when we finally caught him." She smiled, and diverted her gaze. "I really like your smile." She whispered.

"I like how much like a kitten you are." Leader commented, as he gave his head a tilt, lifting his arm with the cat attached to it. He sat up properly, and cradled the cat in his other arm. There were light red lines where the cat's claws had grazed his skin. "We really should go and grab that paint for you, eventually." Smiling, she nodded.

"Yes we should." She said softly before grinning. "By the way, I am nothing like a kitten." Her eyes sparkling mischievously. He arched a brow at that.

"You'll have to prove me otherwise kitten." He said with a chuckle. Mittens had dozed off quickly, his tail twitching every few seconds. She raised a brow before chuckling softly at Mittens.

"And how am I supposed to prove otherwise?" She asked before yawning and flopping onto her back on the bed.

"You'll have to figure that out yourself." He said simply, poking her in the side." Don't you go falling asleep in my bed. Come on, up we go." He made a small shooing motion at her. Rolling her eyes, she got up and stretched, yawning.

"Who said anything about falling asleep in your bed?" She stated as she stretched. "So, are we going to go looking for that paint?" He sighed, put Mittens down, and stood up. At least he was wearing undergarments.

"Let me get dressed first." He said as he went over to search through his dresser. He pulled out some clothing and got dressed, running his fingers through his hair to straighten it."Alright. Let's go." He noticed she was red, and he laughed in amusement. Nodding, she was still blushing as she followed him out of the room.

"Th...thank you for doing this for me." She said softly. He looked back at her as they walked.

"Not a problem." It wasn't long until they reached Tasha's room. There were cans piled up outside of it, her door closed. He raised a brow, but didn't bother worrying about it. He could ask later. He picked up a bunch of the cans, and carted them into the living room. It was a better place to check the colors anyway. He set them beside a coffee table.

"There. Let's see." Lia nodded and began to open some of the cans.

"So far it doesn't look like anything that I would use." She stated frowning. "Come to think of it, I'm not sure what color I should use." She sighed and looked thoughtful. "Actually, since I'm bringing the outside in, I could use some of the green towards the bottom to look like there's grass, the pink for the sky of the setting sun. Just need a little yellow and some blue and purple." She smiled to herself and sorted the cans she would use. Leader watched her as she sorted the paint.

"Alright. I think the wolfling has all of the blue, so you may have to wait for that. I can get in the other colors later, I'm not sure how long it will take. " He commented.

"That's quite all right." She commented back before looking thoughtful. "What about black? And some red?" She asked before looking through the paint again and giving a triumphant squeak when she found what she wanted. "Okay, so that leaves black." Frowning, she placed her hands on her hips and flopped down on the floor. The Leader laughed and picked up a can that had been labeled by what seemed to be Tasha's hand writing.

"This looks like the only black." He tilted his head as he noticed the rest of them were labeled as well. "That certainly makes things easier." He set it by her other cans, and crossed his arms. "Is that all?"

"I guess one can will have to do." She said contemplative before smiling. "Other than getting ALL of this paint that I'm wanting to use back to my room? Yes, unless that is, you want to help me paint." She grinned like a Cheshire. "If not, then I need to ask you if we have any plastic to put on the floor and trays as well as paint brushes and a roller." He arched a brow.

"I'll help you carry it, but I won't help you paint. I'll go get the other supplies."

"Fine, party pooper." He grabbed the paint that wasn't going to be used, and hauled it to the storeroom. He came back with some plastic, and other things she would need. He handed them too her, stacked the cans up, and lifted them.

"Alright. Off we go."She stuck her tongue out at him, and they continued until they came to her room.

"Hopefully after this I'll feel like being in my room more." She stated and sighed. "Thanks again, and thank you for helping me carry the paint here." She looked around her room and placed her hands on her hips, seeming as if she was contemplating something. He set the paint cans down on her floor, and nodded.

"Well, good luck. I'll be in my room, doing stuff." He was eager to go back and finish his nap. Lia blinked, seeming to not have noticed he had spoken.

"Oh, yeah, thanks." She said before smiling. "Hey, where's Kisame's room?" She asked. He raised a brow.

"He's just down the hall to the left of here. Blue door." He walked to the door, and pointed her in the general direction. She followed him to the door and looked in the direction that he was pointing before she nodded. "Not sure what he is doing, so don't just barge into his room. Unless you like seeing blue guys cloths less or something." He commented, before he gave her a small wave and left the room. Blinking, she stared at him in mortified horror.

"I did NOT need the mental image!" She yelled down the hall after him.

-0.o.0.o.0.o-

"Would you like some help with that?" Tasha looked up. When she had dragged the paint to the living room, she hadn't exactly thought she would see Itachi. Yes, she remembered he had said he would be there, but she figured the guy had better things to do. She looked down at the paint cans she had sat down on.

"Well, they are rather heavy." She mumbled.

"Well then, shall we get these paint cans to your room? Then we can get you some plastic to lay down on the floor so that you don't ruin it?" He questioned, standing from the window seat. She sighed and stood up from her perch.

"I suppose so." She grabbed a few cans, and with slightly strained noise, started to carry them to her room. Raising an eyebrow he shrugged and grabbed the remaining cans of paint and carried them to her room.

"You know, you could have always asked for help, not just wait for someone to offer." He stated. She turned to look at him over her shoulder as she propped open the door.

"I wasn't originally going to ask. I was taking a breather." Her voice had a slight hint of defensiveness to it, her lips pulled into a slight pout. She walked over to a can, and pried it open. It was blue. She made a content sound, and went to inspect the other cans. He raised an eyebrow before shrugging.

"Like I said, you could have asked for help. Probably should have, but that's neither here nor there anymore." He said, placing the paint into the middle of the room. "So, you like blue and that's what your looking for?"Tasha blinked. She had forgotten he was here. She turned pink, and gave him a nod.

"Yeah, I like blue. I would prefer it if I had more, but I'll make do." She replied, as she opened a nearby can. This one was green. She set it aside, and opened a few more. She managed to find a few more cans of blue paint with Itachi's help, and had shifted the other cans to the side of her front door. She stood up, dusting her pants off and glanced in Itachi's direction.

"Thanks. " She said this quietly, one hand resting on her hip. He wasn't that bad of a guy. Smiling, he stood up and bowed in her direction, laughing softly.

"My pleasure." He stated before grabbing a couple of the cans that weren't going to be used. "Want me to find that plastic for you?" He asked standing in the doorway. She gave him an amused look as he bowed. It was a weird gesture, but not the worse thing that could ever happen.

"That would be nice. " She started moving her things to the center of the room to make painting easier. At least a little. She didn't exactly know how to paint, but she was sure she could make a decent attempt. That or she could drag Deidara over and cover him in paint with her. She gave a small chuckle at the thought of Deidara covered in blue paint. When she had finished, a decent amount of time had passed. She hadn't seen Itachi in awhile, and she wasn't sure if she should be worried or pleased by this. A knock on he side of her door made her look back, to see Itachi holding plastic sheeting.

"Finally found it. Would you like some help painting?" She blinked, and gave him a blank look. She hadn't expected him to ask. Why was he being so helpful? He probably had some kind of motive for it. Her face twitched into a slight frown, before she walked over to take some of the plastic.

"Well... It couldn't hurt I suppose." She replied, her gaze trained on the floor. Shaking his head, he walked into the room and looked around.

"You know, if you don't want me helping, all you have to do is say no." He stated before placing the plastic down on the floor and made sure that there wasn't any space between it and the wall. Tasha rolled her eyes, and started putting plastic over her furniture.

"Why do you keep asking me if you are going to complain about my answers?" She commented, tucking the plastic tight and casting him a look through lowered lids. "Who said I was complaining?" He questioned. She just shook her head.

"I'm sure there is something else you could be doing." Itachi laughed softly and shook his head.

"No, actually there isn't at the moment. My partner is off doing whatever he does. So that leaves me to do nothing all day." He stated before he seemed to notice they were missing something. "Well looks like I forgot to grab something." He said before handing her the rest of the plastic. "I'll be right back with paint trays to make it easier." With that said, he left swiftly and returned just as fast. She looked down at the plastic for a moment, before she went about placing it on the floor beside her. When he came back with the trays, she arched a brow at him.

"What about brushes?" She asked, giving him a smirk. She was only teasing him, since she had brushes set up on a plastic covered card table. She just wanted to see what he would do. He raised a brow, and looked around the room.

"Haha, I see the rollers over there. So, shall we start? Maybe make this a bit more fun?" He asked as he poured some paint into one of the trays and dipped his hand into. He then placed the paint dripping hand onto the wall and smirked. "And now I so declare that the painting has begun!" Laughing, he shook his head and wiped off his hand before grabbing one of the rollers. She pouted.

"Spoil sport." She grabbed a roller for herself, snagged a tray and filled it with paint. She rolled some paint onto the roller, and immediately walked over to where he stood, rubbing it across his hand print. When she was satisfied, she walked back to the other wall.

"No hand prints." She said cheekily, her mouth curved in amusement. Itachi watched her before pouting himself.

"Now who's being the spoil sport? You just ruined my fun." He said before he began painting. After a few moments, he came over to where she was, hand dripping in paint, and smacked a hand print on her side of the wall. He grinned at her, sticking out his tongue. She frowned at him, and painted the hand print away. She then set the roller down, dipped her hand in her tray, and smacked him across the chest with it. He raised an eyebrow at the mark she made,seeming more amused then anything.

"If you are going to make hand prints on my things, I'll leave hand prints on yours." She gave him a mischievous grin before reaching up and splotching paint on his nose.

"Oh, now its on!" He ran paint down the front of her face, laughing. She growled, reached up and rubbed paint across his cheeks, and dipping both her hands into the tray for more.

"I declare war!" She said with a triumphant look, her expression quickly morphing to a malicious grin. She raised her hands up and aimed for the rest of his cloths. He dodged, and ran his roller along her cloths. "Well we shall see who wins this war!" He stated, flinging paint at her from the roller. She squealed, and ran away from him, over to the other side of the room. She put her hands in his tray, using her chakra to pull the paint into a ball. She turned to him and smiled.

"I have home advantage." She giggled, tossing the paint at him, making sure she could quickly pick up more. Laughing he dodged the paint ball just in time, causing it to hit the wall with a splatter.

"That may be so but that doesn't mean you'll win." He grinned, taking one of the trays and tossing the paint at her. She rolled her eyes, side stepping the paint as it splattered across the plastic and the lower wall. She looked over at it with a frown, and resorted to throwing Itachi's paint tray at him. Laughing, he shook his head and stepped out of the way of the flying paint as it splattered up the wall.

"True enough, but it doesn't mean you'll win either!" She snickered, picking up the nearby paint can.

"Oh, so its going to be like that?" He asked as he watched her picking up the can of paint. "You know, we keep this up and your not going to get your room painted." She pursed her lips, then sighed.

"You started it." She muttered, hauling the paint can over to where Itachi was so she could refill her paint tray. With that finished, she pointed a finger at him.

"Behave." With that she held the can up to him. Taking the paint can, he smiled and filled up the other tray.

"You didn't have to continue." He stated, teasing her before he took the roller and started painting the walls. She shook her head at him, and went back to painting. He was being silly.

"Yes I did. I had to defend my walls honor." She made an amused noise. "Who else will protect it from the marauding hand prints?"

"Oh please. They are the same walls that are attached to my walls. I'm pretty sure that they would survive." He stated before grinning and walking over to her placing the roller against her back, rolled it up her, laughing. "And what about your body?" He raised an eyebrow, grinning. She gave a shriek, moving away from him and casting him a red faced glower. She walked up to him, and rolled her paint across his chest.

"We are supposed to be painting, not violating each other with paint." She muttered, and inspected her shirt. She was going to have to take it off. The wet feeling of paint soaking through her shirt was unpleasant. With an annoyed groan, she pulled the top shirt off, and turned her gaze to Itachi.

"Don't you DARE put paint on this tank top." She narrowed her eyes at him. "Or I'll put paint in your bed." Laughing, Itachi shook his head.

"Aww, come now, I thought you were better than to make empty threats." He muttered before going back to painting the wall. She watched him with narrowed eyes.

"Empty threat? Oh no, you don't know what I'll do to that poor bed of yours." She chimed, before she went back to painting. It was going to take forever at this rate, but at least it was more productive then she would have been with Deidara. They always ended up doing something silly instead of working. Tasha gave a small squeak when paint was suddenly poured over her. She wiped paint from her face, before she looked over at Itachi with a murderous glower.

"We shall see about that now." She fumed at his words, and wiped more paint off her. She stomped over to her door, picked up a paint can she had labeled as pink paint, and marched over to Itachi's door. She could hear him laughing as she went. She kicked the door open, walked over to his bed, and poured the paint all over it. It was probably not the smartest move she had ever pulled, but she wasn't the brightest when she was upset.

"There! What an improvement!" She growled. Raising a brow, he shrugged.

"It can be replaced." He stated. She looked over at him, huffed, and left the room. She walked back into hers, looking at the total lack of progress they had. She took it back, Deidara would have been more progressive. She shook her head. She would be better off trying to paint in her underwear. Not that she trusted stripping down. With a sigh, she kicked her door closed, and went back to painting. She needed something to calm her down.

-0.o.0.o.0.o-

Kisame looked up at the knock on his door. Who would want to bother him on his day off. He gave a sigh, putting down the weights he had been holding and grabbing a towel. He wiped his face, and tossed the towel over his shoulder. He answered the door, dressed in shorts, and nothing more.

"Hello there Lia!" He chuckled when he noticed her standing there. "What do ya need?" Lia looked at him before grimacing. He raised a brow at this. She took a deep breath, and smiled.

"Well I was wondering if you wanted to come hang out in my room with me and maybe help me paint my room?" She asked. "I tried to get the Leader to help since he was the one that helped me get the paint and such but he said no."

"What weird images did the Leader put into your brain, to be giving me a look like that?" He commented, opening his door further and walking inside. "I can help you out, I guess. Give me a moment." He went through an archway, which must have led to his bedroom, since the current room was filled with training equipment.

"Oh, of you going around with no clothes on." She yelled into him. "Kind of something I didn't need to see to be honest, of anyone." He made a sad noise.

"Aww man. That means I should put pants back on huh?" He teased, before he came out, clad in pants and his v-neck top, no mesh underneath.

"I would hope that you would put pants on." She stated.

"Alright, all set. Lead the way little missy."The two traveled back to her room.

"I was thinking about painting the workshop black, for my training stuff, and then in here its going to be nature. I'm going to be having, dirt, trees and plants and such brought in, so I was going to paint the bottom green for grass and then the rest looking like the setting sun." She said motioning to the wall. Kisame put a hand to his chin, looking thoughtful.

"Hm, well that's doable. A little complex, but doable. Let's see what we can do, hm Mittens?" He gave her a toothy grin. She blinked, before she raised a brow at him.

"Since when am I Mittens? My name isn't Mittens." She stated before she nodded. "I'm sure its going to be a bit complex, but I think we could do it anyway." Kisame laughed in amusement.

"I know you don't understand what I just said, but I'm sure the Leader would have decked me for that." He ruffled her hair, cracked his knuckles, and walked over to the paint cans. She raised an eyebrow at him before shaking her head.

"And what do you mean by that?" He just chuckled.

"Alright. Let's do this." With a soft sigh, she nods and started opening cans of paint.

"All right." She said, pouring the paint into trays. "This is probably going to take awhile. And we're missing at least one of the colors so its going to have to wait, but we can do the rest."

"Yeah, most likely. Don't worry about what I said, I was just being silly. I hate when people are gloomy." Kisame commented as he started painting. It wasn't his strong suit, but he could get the job done.

"I wasn't being gloomy." She frowned. Time seemed to pass quickly as they painted, and they soon finished. Lia had flopped down on her floor, face covered in paint.

"Well, that took awhile. Thank you." She panted through the heat. Her room had gotten uncomfortably warm. Kisame opened a window, and gave her a nod as he leaned out it.

"No problem. Let me know if you ever need help again." Having cooled down a bit, he walked over and wiped some of the paint off of her face.

"Thank you." She says softly, a faint blush to her cheeks.

"Take it easy. Life is too short to be so gloomy about life."

"Who said I was gloomy about life?" She asked, rather confused. Kisame laughed.

"No one. You just look like the gloomy type." He gave his muscles a stretch, before he walked over to the door. "Anyway, I have some things to finish. If you need any heavy lifting done. Look me up." Smiling, she nodded and waved to him.

"Thanks again."

-0.o.0.o.0.o-

She had finished two walls by the time she had calmed down. She felt a little bad that she had covered Itachi's bed in paint, but then again, she didn't. She set her roller down, and took a shower. Now that she had gotten all of the paint out of her hair, and she was soaking her paint stained cloths in her sink, she felt better. She pulled on fresh cloths, and went out to find Deidara. He was in his workshop, messing with his clay as usual. She barged in, since his door was unlocked.

"Deidara, how's the progress?" He looked up at her, brushing stray hair from his eyes.

"Hey Tasha. It's going well." He held up the weirdly shaped creation in his hands. She gave him a skeptical nod.

"Right. Willing to help a girl out?" He gave her a curious tilt of the head, sighed, and put his clay down. He wiped his hands on a towel, and then leaned back in his chair.

"What do you need?" She gave him a smile.

"Help me finish painting?" He grumbled, but got up anyway.

"Why not." The two of them wandered back to her room, and Deidara made a distressed noise upon seeing her room. "God, you are a terrible painter, hm." She laughed at this, as he immediately set to work. She was surprised at how well he could paint. She had never painted before, so it was interesting to see how it was supposed to be done. A small, wet splatter made her blink, and she noticed Deidara looking at her. He had splashed her arm with some of the blue paint.

"What was that for?" She questioned, coming over as he motioned to her. He handed her a roller.

"I know you are a terrible painter, but help a little, un." She laughed, and tried to help. He scolded her a few times, before he decided he had to teach her how to paint properly. He stood behind her, much to her embarrassment, and used her hand to move the roller.

"See, you roll it like this." He moved her arm another way. "Not like this, un." She blushed, feeling uncomfortable that he was so physically close to her.

"O-okay Deidara, I get it." He rested his head on top of her's.

"You sure?" He chuckled. She rolled her eyes.

"Yes, I'm sure! Stop pushing me down so you can use me as a head rest!" He dodged as she tried to elbow him. He chuckled at her miffed expression, and wiggled his fingers at her. She gave him a small smile, and gave his arm a swat. He faked pain, and she shook her head. The two of them went back to painting. The door to her room had been left open, now that she was in a good mood. It was easier to get rid of the paint smell. The two of them finished surprisingly quickly. She smiled, placing her hands on her hips and looking the room over. Yeah it would do nicely. She just had to wait for her things to come in so she could fix up her workshop. She sighed. That would have to wait for another day off. There was a soft pat on her head, and she looked up at Deidara. He was rubbing her head, a smile across his lips. She closed her eyes, and relaxed.

"Well, that's done. Anything else you want to drag me into doing while I'm here,un?" She opened an eye and looked at him, contemplating.

"Well... you could totally help me dust the workshop. It's so dusty that it's frightening." He gave a groan.

"You are trying to work me to death, un." He said mockingly, wrapping his arms around her head. She complained as he dragged her over to the next room, which was connected to her bedroom by an archway. The workshop was indeed very dirty. Deidara released her head, leaving her panting as he ran a finger along a shelf. He grimaced, and turned to her.

"Okay, where are the cleaning supplies, un?" She cheered and went out to grab what was needed. The two of them cleaned until they were exhausted, and had flopped down on the floor together. Deidara was leaning back on his arms, the glass door, which she was surprised existed, was opened to let out the dust. Tasha lay flat on her back, looking up at the ceiling.

"I.. am so tired right now." Deidara cast her a glance.

"Wimp, un." He chuckled deeply and she pouted.

"You're panting more then I am." He snickered, and reached over, flopping across her stomach. She let out a grunt, and sunk her fingers into his hair. He relaxed, and she made an amused noise.

"Whatever. I'm allowed to be tired, un." He muttered, nuzzling her stomach.

"That may be so, but I am not a bed." She complained, but didn't try to push him away. He wrapped his arms around her in response, and settled his head against her rib cage. She squirmed at the awkwardness of the position, then gave up with a sigh. She wouldn't be able to pry herself from his grip, she had tried that before.

"I disagree, un." He murmured quietly. She rolled her eyes, running her fingers through his hair.

"Fine, stay there." She huffed.

"I will, un." He said contently. There was a soft knock, and Tasha looked over to the arch that connected the two rooms.

"Well, looks like you finished quite well." Itachi said. She raised a brow at him, giving Deidara's head a tight squeeze. He grunted, and propped his chin up on her sternum. It was definitely an awkward position.

"Oh. Hi Itachi. Yeah, we finished the room and cleaned up in here." She motioned to the general cleanliness of the workshop. "Ah, and sorry about the bed. I was kinda upset." Deidara raised a brow at the mention of the word bed.

"What did you do, un?" She looked down at him.

"I dumped paint on it." Deidara laughed, burying his face to stifle the sound. She frowned at him.

"Will you get your face out of my boobs?" He raised his head, still laughing.

"Its fine, really. Everything has been replaced." Itachi smirked as he looked at her. "But remember I can always get you back when you least expect it." He commented. Tasha blinked, and gave Itachi a skeptic look.

"But if I expect it, it isn't unexpected." She pointed out, squeaking as Deidara nuzzled her. "Will you stop that Deidara?" He pouted, and repositioned to cuddle her stomach. She shook her head, turning her attention back to Itachi. "But then it still wouldn't be expected." Grinning, he flopped down on the floor.

"How did you replace it so fast?" Itachi laughed shaking his head.

"I'm used to people playing jokes on me, particularly your friend there so I've had extras just in case." Deidara rolled his eyes from where he lay.

"You two are rather chummy today." Deidara commented, eying where Itachi sat. Tasha pat his head soothingly. Itachi shrugged and leaned back on his elbows.

"Easy Deidara." Though he was right. The two of them were unusually friendly today. "So? Can two people not be friendly to each other?" He commented back. Deidara let out an annoyed huff, gripping Tasha tighter.

"Not you two." Itachi raised a brow sceptically.

"And why not us two? You and I got along the night of the party." Deidara growled.

"That was a temporary truce." Tasha rolled her eyes.

"I think it would still be expected, since I would be expecting you to do something unexpectedly expected." Tasha commented, trying to keep Deidara calm. Itachi shrugged again.

"Perhaps, but perhaps not." Her brows furrowed, and Tasha tried to get Deidara to loosen his grip while she thought.

"Right. This conversation is going in circles." She rolled onto her side, forcing Deidara to shift so he could use her side as a pillow. He was like a clingy puppy. It was a drastic difference to his usual violent self. Not that she complained. "So... Erm... " She seemed lost for conversational topics. Itachi laughed and shook his head.

"So, any more projects you've got in mind?" Tasha blinked. She wasn't sure why he was so curious.

"At some point. It will have to wait for my next day off. The things I need won't be here until then." She gave a small shrug. " So, what did you do to your workshop?" She asked curiously. "Kunai bulls-eyes. And as far as the other stuff coming in, if you need help just let me know." Tasha frowned. That was boring. She was expecting some weird and elaborate thing. She gave a small squeak as Deidara sat up abruptly, pulling her with him. She cast him a look of barely veiled annoyance.

"No, I'll help her, un. She is my partner." He narrowed his eyes at Itachi and Tasha let out a sigh. He was possessive it seemed.

"I'll ponder if I need help when it actually comes in. Both of you, stop it." She grumbled.

"Hey, I was being nice, not possessive. I was just offering." Itachi shrugged and waved to the two of them. "I'll leave you to your possessive partner. Come find me if you need help." He said as he walked out the door. Tasha raised a brow as he left, and turned to look at Deidara.

"I'm not possessive." He mumbled. Tasha raised a brow, and looked down at his hands, which were tightly grasped around her waist. "Well... not _that_ possessive." She rolled her eyes. It was going to be an interesting week.


End file.
